For three days the disabled Virginia State Police Medivac helicopter sat on the roof of the Roanoke Memorial Hospital, suspending dozens of emergency flights to the hospital’s 15th floor helipad. While several plans for removing the helicopter were reviewed and discarded as unsafe or impractical, dozens of medivac flights were forced to land blocks away from the hospital and ferry critical patients to Roanoke Memorial by ambulance.

Hospital officials finally presented an unusual solution to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine for his approval: use an Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter to pluck the smaller craft off the hospital roof. With Governor Kaine’s approval, the 2-224AVN BN, a Virginia National Guard unit stationed in Sandston, Virginia, got the call. Powhatan’s CW4 Shane Leipertz was assigned to pilot the aircraft.

Sikorsky’s H-60 series Black Hawk is the Army’s primary air assault helicopter. It is designed to carry a full squad of troops (11) and all of their gear. The Black Hawk can be armed with an arsenal of missiles, rockets, howitzers, cannons and machine guns, but nowhere in its mission capacity is there a plan to airlift disabled helicopters. This did not deter Leipertz, Captain Mark Baush and Sergeant Chris Pate.

“It was one of those hero or zero missions,” Leipertz admitted. “My favorite kind.”

It also required planning and executing a mission that was not in the operations manual. The National Guard team would, in fact, “add a new chapter in the manual,” said Leipertz.

After the team came up with a feasible plan, they flew from Sandston to Fort Pickett to bring two skilled riggers on board. “They were essential to the operation,” Leipertz agreed.

The flight arrived in Roanoke at 10:30 a.m. on June 29. Streets were closed off and fire and rescue crews assembled.

It was very important to be aware of how weight, balance and distribution were going to affect the flight controls,” Leipertz pointed out and “that I had full authority [to call off the operation] at any time.”

Satisfied that the exercise was feasible, the two riggers went to work on the strapping and clevises that would be used to lift the disabled helicopter. And there was one more critical safety device. The Black Hawk’s skin generates so much static electricity that a man touching the exterior would, at minimum, be knocked off his feet and could, in fact, be electrocuted. A device known as a reach pinion was installed to negate the static charge, the strapping was attached and, at 12:40 p.m., the Black Hawk crew successfully completed the first lift, setting the disabled copter down several blocks from the hospital and then returning for the rotors, which had been removed to facilitate the first lift.

Leipertz returned the Black Hawk to the roof, and held his aircraft off with only three wheels touching the roof as the rotors were loaded into the cabin.

“We had to load 200 pounds into the cabin to counter-balance the rotors,” the pilot said. The cargo from the second lift was deposited with the disabled chopper and the Black Hawk returned to Sandston. Leipertz donated his time to the mission and his day’s pay to the Staff Sergeant Daniel Booker scholarship fund.

Still, Shane Leipertz’s week was far from over. He also dedicated his time to displaying his Black Hawk helicopter to the thousands of people who celebrated the 4th of July at Powhatan resident Clyde Childress’ Powhatan farm.

The Black Hawk, which, depending on its configuration, carries a price tag of $5.9 to $10.2 million, was a huge attraction at this Families of the Wounded fund raiser.