PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A helicopter pilot hailed as a hero after a frightening crash last week in Delaware County has been released from the hospital. However, he still has a long road to recovery.
It was Tuesday when Daniel Moore was piloting the medical helicopter that crashed on the lawn of the Drexel Hill United Methodist church.
"I'm just fortunate. I had God as my co-pilot that day. He took care of the crew and we landed in his front yard, so that was kind of nice," said Moore.
Moore, his crew, and a two-month-old girl they were transporting all survived, and they were able to avoid hitting power lines, buildings and bystanders. But he was left with a fractured sternum, and a hazy memory.
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"I really don't remember much of anything to be honest, I do remember waking up and looking up and seeing a whole company of fire fighters looking down at me. That’s a real good feeling," he said.
"I remember my flight medic taking the two-month-old baby, handing it off to safety and grabbing the fire extinguisher and putting the fire out, and then taking that baby on an ambulance to finish the mission and get 'em to the hospital, which I thought was completely amazing."
After successful surgery on his sternum, Moore was wheeled out of Penn Presbyterian Hospital Sunday morning to cheers and applause from friends, family and other first responders.
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His fiancée Gail Miller said this is a big step in the right direction.
"We still have a long way to go. There's going to be a lot of recovery that has to happen, a lot of physical therapy that's going to have to happen, and then some emotional support as well," she said.
"I've been a first responder for many many years," Miller added. "I have a 20-year history with fire and rescue, so when you have a loved one who is involved in that field in any way shape or form, you always dread the day you get that phone call saying something happened to your loved one."
Both Moore and Miller could not stop praising the doctors, nurses and other people who helped in the aftermath of the crash, calling them heroes. And Moore said he's just happy to have made it.
"I'm just glad to be here," he said, "and I'm glad I got my crew back alive."
The crash is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation could take up to a year.
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