BALTIMORE --

WBALTV: Listen to the Tapes

Communication tapes were released Thursday on what led up to the September crash of a Maryland State Police Medevac helicopter that killed four people and critically injured another.

The tapes recorded the conversations between Medevac pilot Stephen Bunker, authorities in Charles County and the state's Emergency Medical System. They revealed that the weather that night was a concern before the chopper ever took off and that Bunker decided to "give it a try."

The cause of the Sept. 28 crash is still under investigation. The chopper went down in a Prince George's County park with two car crash patients on board. At the time, the pilot was trying to maneuver through fog.

The communications tapes recorded Bunker's concern about the weather when the crews handling the car crash first called for the Medevac's help.

"I don't know if we can make it to the hospital," Bunker said on the tape.

"That's fine. If you can't make the mission, you can't make the mission," said the EMS responder.

But moments later, Bunker decided to answer the call.

"Trooper 2 is willing to give it a try," he said on the recording.

The state police chopper picked up the two patients without incident, but as it approached the Prince George's Hospital, Bunker radioed the state's command that the fog was too thick.

"Prince George's Hospital is completely fogged in. We're unable to land there. We're going to be returning to Andrews (Air Force Base). I'll give you an ETA in a second. We'll need at least two ground units meeting us there," Bunker said.

It was the chopper's last communication on the tapes. The next thing heard is the call between an officer at a state police barracks and the state's command, with confusion over the whereabouts of the Medevac.

"Where is Trooper 2 now?" police said.

"They've already landed at Andrews," command responded.

"They've already landed? Are you sure they're OK? Because Andrews called us and said they lost them 10 minutes out," police said.

Repeated attempts to reach the chopper by radio were met with no response.

The National Transportation and Safety Board released a preliminary report on the crash on Thursday. It does not determine cause.

It does state that the Medevac pilot sought assistance from an Andrews air controller to make a radar-guided landing, but the controller wasn't qualified to provide that help.

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