Air Angels crews rebounding and ready

The story originally published Feb. 26, 2005.

It feels like the spin cycle starting up on a washing machine.

But with a heck of a lot more horsepower.

And as the blade picks up speed and twin engines awaken, it quickly becomes obvious that there's more than laundry at stake here.

"We're secure," crackles the radio voice of Philip Huth, a helicopter pilot for Air Angels, an air ambulance service based in West Chicago.

Soon, Air Angel 1, a Bell 222 helicopter, rises from its concrete bed along the outskirts of the DuPage Airport.

It will take five or six minutes for Huth, plus the flight paramedic and flight nurse who make up the crew to reach their destination: the landing pad at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

Their cargo: a 45-year-old male who was ejected from his vehicle in a head-on crash.

The heavily bandaged man strapped to a stretcher is Michael Iwanicki, the director of trauma services and co-director of critical care services at Good Samaritan.

The flight is real. The blood pouring from his bandages and dripping on the cabin floor is not.

And Iwanicki is just fine. What he really wants is to test whether his emergency room staff is doing well, too.

The drill also is one more instance in which Air Angels crew members stay on high alert and hone their skills with thorough preparation and seemingly microscopic attention to detail.

"Every time we fly, we get training value out of it," Huth said.

Most Air Angels flights consist of transporting critically ill patients from one hospital to another.

On some occasions, pilots from the privately owned company fly donated organs to transplant recipients.

They can be off the ground within six minutes to whisk serious accident victims at speeds up to 180 mph to the nearest trauma center.

It just so happens that the closest center often is at Good Samaritan, and the Air Angels' performance doesn't go unnoticed by Iwanicki.

"They land in fields, in streets, it's a life-and-death situation," he said. "They're able to provide good patient care to the patients that need it most."

On call, all the time

Before the helicopter engine is even fired up, hours upon hours of maintenance and training occur at the Air Angels headquarters at 320 Kress Road.

In addition to housing administrative offices, it also serves as a hangar, garage and functions just like a firehouse.

Crews prepare meals, sleep, exercise, hold medical training seminars, repair engines, and - of course - respond when called.

Most larger hospitals have their own helicopter teams; Air Angels isn't affiliated with any agency or health-care network.

It's a team effort, and Glen Wenzel is the captain.

Each 12-hour shift starts with a briefing.

Wenzel and his staff review wind speeds, private plane traffic at the nearby DuPage Airport and weather conditions.

On a recent overcast day, Wenzel takes in the forecast. "Marginal but flyable," is his verdict.

Watches are synchronized; safety is the overriding mandate.

"On the ground, I'm there to help you. In the air, you're there to help me," Wenzel says to the assembled crew.

Passion and pride

Wenzel is a pilot and the director of maintenance for Air Angels. The 49-year-old Naperville resident and U.S. Navy veteran got his start repairing helicopters.

Over his 30-year flight career, Wenzel has taxied around high-powered executives and VIPs on NASCAR racing teams. He's rescued injured extreme skiers in the Rocky Mountains and even flown over forest fires, using huge vats of water to douse the flames.

Wenzel grew up in the small town of Saddlebrook, N.J., along the approach path of Newark Airport.

When he was 7, he and his dad used to set up a picnic table near the runway and watch incoming jets.

"I remember as a little kid, just looking up and being amazed," Wenzel recalled. "At 16, I knew I was interested in helicopters. They just seemed so complex and sophisticated."

A volunteer firefighter, Wenzel works at Air Angels because it's a perfect fusion of his passion and desire to help others.

"I wanted to do something with my pilot's license. I came from a dirt-poor family. I want to give back," he said. "I love flying. I have a passion for it. You either love it or you hate it. I'm not here to collect a paycheck."

He's been at the company for two years, and wears several hats.

For starters, Wenzel, who knows helicopters inside and out, works as a mechanic and teaches his skills to others.

And, as a pilot in the cockpit, he can sense how the aircraft is responding and what type of fine-tuning it may need.

It's like being a race car driver and pit crew leader in one, a blend appreciated by Chris Heiter, the lead mechanic and chief inspector at Air Angels.

" (Wenzel) can help us translate problems to the pilots," said Heiter, of St. Charles. "(Helicopters) are just like women. You have to take care of them."

A tough job

One might argue the most important hat everyone wears is that of an Air Angels family member.

Staff members rely on each other for comfort, especially after a gruesome accident or when a critically ill patient doesn't make it.

"It's tough on all of us, but we help each other through it. But we won't stop what we're doing either," Wenzel said.

"We'll go anywhere we're called."

Sometimes that can be in a soggy cornfield or a six-lane highway. Or in the middle of the night and in bad weather.

Just ask Huth, an air ambulance helicopter pilot for 12 years, the last of which he's spent at Air Angels.

"Landing at an accident scene can be dicey," he said. "You're going to places where it was never intended for an aircraft to land."

Adding to that variable is that Chicago area airspace is very busy.

"We still all have to act together as a flight crew," added Huth, a Downers Grove resident. "Stuff has to be second nature. You don't have time to sit and think things out."

When the alarm rings, crew members know something horrible has happened.

But it's their chance to help, too.

"We all know, just like a home on fire, you didn't start the fire. But you're called to put it out," Wenzel said.

"With us, we didn't cause the accident. We know we're needed to preserve this person's life. I'm not going to lie and say emotionally this doesn't hurt anybody."

Rebounding

In January 2003, an Air Angels pilot died after his helicopter crashed.

Wenzel had just started working at Air Angels and inherited the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which found the company was not at fault.

In following months, Wenzel made a number of changes.

"It's been a long hard road, and it's paid off. This is a completely different company," he said.

Describing Wenzel as hands-on is probably an understatement.

"Everything has to be right. He's the maintenance guru," Huth said. "He's just the kind of guy - and there's several around here - if there's something that needs to be done, he gets it done."

Added Heiter, "He's been there and done just about all of it. Before he came here, we had a very hard time with the pilots."

Wenzel credits the team for staying alert and stressing safety.

"Everybody here wants to be here. They train hard. They work hard. They're ready to go," he said.