An NYPD detective suffered a serious leg injury after he fell 20 feet from a helicopter during a training exercise Thursday afternoon.
The detective was supposed to rappel down a rope at the College Point training facility in Queens at around 12:15 p.m. However, when he grabbed the rope, it became free, and he fell to the ground, the New York Daily News reported.
WATCH (Warning: Some viewers may find the footage disturbing)
After the fall, fellow officers can be seen running toward the fallen detective to start giving him aid.
Police say the impact from the fall “snapped his leg in half,” the New York Post reported.
The officer was airlifted to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx to treat the injuries to his leg. He was conscious following the accident and is expected to recover, according to NBC 4.
He reportedly joined the force in 2005.
A police source told the Daily News that the individual overseeing the rappelling exercise was new. The source added that the accident could also have been attributed to the rope not being properly rigged or that “the rope attachment point could have failed.”
This is the second incident within a year where an NYPD officer was injured in an incident involving a helicopter.
On December 13, 2021, the co-pilot of a helicopter suffered serious injuries after his fellow pilot made a hard landing at a Wall Street helipad. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed his fellow pilot for the crash.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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