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Helicopter makes hard landing at St. Petersburg's Albert Whitted

 
Published Jan. 6, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — A helicopter made a hard landing and ended up on its side at Albert Whitted Airport on Friday afternoon, according to St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue.

The incident took place at 3:53 p.m. The helicopter was a white Robinson R22, a single-engine light helicopter with a two-bladed main rotor that weighs just under 1,000 pounds.

There were two occupants inside the helicopter who managed to crawl out after the hard landing, according to Lt. Joel Granata. Both escaped unharmed, The occupants were checked out by paramedics and refused treatment.

The aircraft had 14 gallons of fuel at the time of the landing but no fuel leak was reported, according to fire officials.

The cause of the hard-landing is unknown, Granata said. The pilot did not tell firefighters what went wrong.

FAA officials have been dispatched to the scene to investigate.