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ORNGE Chopper’s Door Blows Open Midair in Haliburton, Canada

ORNGEA door of an ORNGE helicopter, an air ambulance, blew open midair near Haliburton, Canada, at 8:15 p.m. on May 31.

The main cargo door flew open just 300 metres over Balsam Lake and cargo of the chopper fell into the lake.

The incident happened when the chopper was going from Toronto to Haliburton to pick up a patient from a local hospital. All aboard remained safe.

Transport Canada has been informed of the incident and ORNGE is investigating it. “(ORNGE) will take whatever steps necessary to minimize the chance of this happening again,” ORNGE spokesman James MacDonald said on June 3 while talking to media.

MacDonald further said the pilots did a visual inspection after landing the chopper, “concluding that there had been no damage.” The chopper resumed its flight to pick up the patient from Haliburton, who was later flown to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

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