Pilot Makes Hard Landing in Downtown Houston

A Houston police helicopter on routine patrol takes a hard landing in midtown, and 39 News was first at the scene.

"We just had a catastrophic engine failure," said David Bateson, the HPD pilot who somehow managed to execute a very difficult and dramatic emergency landing using auto rotation.

He was able to save himself, a fellow pilot, and a Harris County Sheriff's deputy on board.

"When you're auto-rotating, basically you have no power going to rotor system and you're free-falling to the ground," said Sgt. L.W. Hromadka. "We train for that every three months, but it's simulated."

Within seconds after landing the chopper catches fire, but firefighters and fellow pilots quickly arrived to help.

Several witnesses say they heard a loud bang prior to seeing the helicopter drop 600 to 800 feet from the sky.

"It was pretty shocking," said one witness.

They say they saw the blue chopper come down over some rooftops at a steep angle and land hard on an empty lot.

"If there houses here," said Kevin Copeland, a witness. "He would have landed on something. It's a good thing there was a field here."

Now this pilot, who has well over 20 years of experience, is being called a hero.

"He came down really fast, really hard, but when he landed, he did a perfect landing," said Robby Hudson, another witness. "He did an excellent job."

"He handled it very well, took care of the bird, and he couldn't have done a better job," said Lt. Kenneth Campbell.

HPD says the chopper is one of its older model, which had logged more than 20,000 flight hours.

The department says the aircraft will be repaired and back in service soon.