Oct 2, 2008 7:47 pm US/Eastern
Officer Remembered After Deadly Medevac Crash
GAMBER, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Hundreds pay their respects to Mickey Lippy, the first to be remembered in the deadly Medevac helicopter crash.
He lost his life doing a job he loved and helping people in need.
Mike Hellgren reports hundreds paid their respects to Mickey Lippy, the first to be remembered in the deadly Medevac helicopter crash.
The viewing was held Thursday in Carroll County. Law enforcement from around the country were in attendance along with friends, family and Lippy's four-month-old daughter. His funeral is being held Friday.
The investigation into the chopper crash that killed him is far from over.
Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy died trying to save the lives of others.
He was a paramedic aboard the Maryland Medevac chopper that crashed near Andrews Airforce Base.
Hundreds of mourners packed the firehouse in Gamber where Lippy and his wife worked part-time.
"He was the type of guy that he did the things right the first time," said Bruce Bouch. "A four-month-old daughter, now that's a travesty in itself. You know this is a, she doesn't have her father now."
"Trooper Lippy, you would have to say, is the consummate provider of community service," said Sgt. Arthur Betts.
While those close to the victims grieve, the NTSB investigation into the crash is underway.
The crash comes just weeks after an audit criticized the way maintenance records were kept.
"I was concerned that this was an eventuality if we didn't change the culture," said Sen. John Astle.
Before the chopper went down, the pilot had diverted because of bad weather. He also told air traffic controllers a piece of equipment called a glide scope that helps him land was not working.
A private company is now inspecting instrumentation on the remaining 11 choppers in the fleet as they slowly return to service. They've been grounded since the incident.
"We want to insure these helicopters are safe, that there's nothing that could endanger anyone's safety," said Greg Shipley with Maryland State Police.
Lippy's sister, Dawn Lippy-Childs, told
WJZ, "He not only was a medic. He was a devoted and loving father, husband, son, brother and uncle. My heart goes out to my wonderful sister-in-law Chrissy Lippy and their beautiful daughter Madison. Words cannot describe what they're going through. Our family is devastated."
Lippy will be buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.
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