A LifeFlight helicopter headed to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston made a precautionary landing in a field off Winn Road in Cumberland on Tuesday evening around 5:30 p.m.

According to LifeFlight Executive Director Thomas Judge, the aircraft had been flying all day and had no patients on board at the time.

Judge said the helicopter generated a master caution light warning, which he likened to a check engine light in a car, and the pilot made the decision to find a safe landing zone. The pilot alerted Portland International Airport of his situation and set the aircraft down safely in the field. The pilot and two medical crew members were unharmed in the landing.

“That’s why we fly with two engines,” Judge said. He said that while many companies are investing in aircraft with single engines, he prefers the security of two.

Judge said the aircraft used Tuesday is a secondary helicopter used while their primary aircraft is going through an extensive overhaul that will make it more technologically advanced. “We’re in the middle of investing a huge amount of money,” Judge said.

Sgt. Tom Burgess of the Cumberland Police Department said they received the call that the helicopter had dropped off a patient at Maine Medical Center and was on its way to Lewiston when it developed a problem with one of its engines.

Burgess said officers will be guarding the aircraft overnight until investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration arrive in the morning.

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