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Northern Territory News
A FORMER Territorian has told how he spent agonising hours hanging out of a helicopter that crashed into trees in East Timor last week.
Greg Jack, 42, was working as an air crewman for CHC Helicopters on a medical evacuation contract with the United Nations when the accident happened about 4.30pm last Wednesday.
Mr Jack, who worked as an armourer at RAAF Base Tindal at Katherine for seven years, broke his pelvis in the crash.
The Bell 212 helicopter was flying to the village of Same, 50km south of Dili, to evacuate a woman, who was going into a breach labour when the helicopter crashed into treetops.
The five crew on board the helicopter all survived, with a nurse on board suffering a fractured jaw and the Adelaide pilot Ross Darling suffering minor injuries.
Mr Jack was flown to Royal Darwin Hospital for surgery Wednesday night.
He spoke to the Sunday Territorian about his ordeal yesterday.
"We were going in to pick up a patient for the UN in a village near Dili and as we were coming into land something went wrong and we ended up crashing into trees near the village there," he said.
"I was in the back and had the door open as we were coming into land. I didn't have a seat belt on but I was attached by a safety strap.
As we went into the trees I yelled out 'brace' and made sure the passengers were secure.
I tried to get back into the seat but it happened too quick and I got thrown out the back of the side door.
We were going through light trees until this big tree came up, we hit it and it spun us around 180 degrees and the helicopter landed on its side.
I came to and I was hanging upside down by the strap on the roof of the helicopter ... I was watching the blood pumping out of my overalls from the hole in my back.
I couldn't see any of the rest of the crew and all I could think about was getting myself off and find out but I passed out."
Mr Jack said he did not know how long he was dangling 1m off the ground but he woke to find himself on the ground being treated by the "slightly shaken" doctor, who was on the medical evacuation team.
Mr Jack, who had been working in East Timor for seven months, said it would take him at least six weeks in hospital to recover.
"I have a broken pelvis, a puncture wound to the buttock and one lower vertebrae is broken," he said.
"And I've got a Sydney Harbour Bridge built over my stomach at the moment."