One of the firefighter-paramedics who survived the deadly Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue helicopter crash in Pompano Beach last month plans to sue the maintenance company that he said had last worked on the aircraft.
Mikael "Mike" Chaguaceda spoke for the first time Friday about the moments the chopper fell out of the sky back on Aug. 28, killing another flight paramedic and a woman who was inside her apartment.
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"Once the initial boom happened we actually fell down and then we regained altitude," he said. "Smell of fire of course but it smelled electrical to me, sound also appeared to be like it was coming from the left side which is what we would call our Engine One."
BSO CHOPPER CRASH
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Chaguaceda said when they heard a second boom, the tail rotor snapped off and they fell out of the sky.
"We've never ever heard anything like that so we knew it was catastrophic," he said. "Even though the spins must have been a couple seconds, it felt like minutes. Every single thought I had was my son, my family, how will this be explained to my son? How am I going to die at 31 years old going to save a life?"
When they crashed through the one-story apartment building a few blocks from Pompano Beach Air Park, Chaguaceda said he was disoriented and just grateful to be alive.
"I’m in the craziest pain of my life, I got the wind knocked out of me so I can barely even breathe, and on top of that, I’m like 'I’m about to burn alive,' the whole cabin side was full of smoke and fire," he said.
Chaguaceda was able to climb his way out of the burning chopper and onto the roof to safety along with the pilot.
Now, through his attorneys, Chaguaceda plans to sue the maintenance company who they say last worked on the aircraft, Metro Aviation.
They say Metro Aviation, a Louisiana-based company, installed a new air conditioning unit behind the chopper's Engine One just weeks before the crash.
"If that air conditioning and that work was the cause of this crash and the cause of the loss of these lives, then Metro Aviation and whoever was involved in that work needs to be held accountable," his attorney said.
Metro Aviation released a brief statement on Friday.
"Metro is cooperating with the NTSB and FAA and can not comment on an ongoing investigation," the statement read.
Chaguaceda said he thinks often of the woman killed in the crash, 65-year-old Lurean Wheaton, and Terryson Jackson, the battalion chief on board who didn't make it out.
“My best friend, my partner, the one who ran the craziest calls and most rewarding calls I’ve had in my career is helplessly just in there getting burned," he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
