Reports of a mysterious helicopter flying low to the ground late at night have run rampant from area residents who wonder what’s going on.
Witnesses have seen a helicopter flying around the Magnolia and Fernwood near their residences as early as 9 a.m. and even after 11 p.m. They say they’ve seen the craft on a daily and nightly basis. At times, it uses a searchlight to focus in on a specific area. Other times, witnesses say the helicopter lands on the ground briefly, then takes off.
But pinpointing who or what agency is behind the frequent sightings has stumped some residents.
Wonder no more.
Med Trans, the air medical operator of the Ochsner Flight Care program, which recently entered into a contract with Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, has been conducting exercises for their pilots.
Southwest Health Systems CEO Norman Price confirmed that pilots with Ochsner Flight Care have been training three pilots to get them accustomed to the area.
The hospital recently signed a contract with Ochsner to provide air medical services that takes effect in February.
On Wednesday, Jay May, who is tasked with training the emergency air service pilots, hopped out of the helicopter at the McComb-Pike County Airport, where the helicopters are being kept until Feb. 1, when they move to the hospital.
He said training exercises should wrap up in the next day or so and the helicopter sightings should go down dramatically.
“It’s just for training. Once training is over, we’ll do an exercise every four months or so, but that’ll be just for a day,” May said.
May is just as hopeful a helicopter doesn’t need to be put to use often. But when it is, the pilots will be ready, well aware of the environment they are flying over.
Ben Fortenberry with Air Services of Mississippi, the fixed based operator at the airport, said some of the training requires different flight patterns and the use of spotlights, which is far different than the typical flight path of medical helicopters.
“This means they’re flying low to the ground and using their searchlights occasionally. They’re probably getting familiar with the territory, finding what roads they can land on, if necessary,” he said.
Price said he’s seen often sees other helicopters unrelated to Ochsner or the hospital flying in the area as well.
“I’ve personally seen the yellow helicopters in the past — the ones that seem to be working with the oil companies,” he said.
He noted the Ochsner helicopters are blue with yellow trim.
“There’s probably no X-files here,” Price said.
