It was my first time flying with photojournalist Matt England in WISN’s helicopter.

Our main aircraft, a Schweitzer 300, was down for maintenance, so we were flying in our backup helicopter — a 1967 Bell 47.

With the doors off, Matt had to hang the camera out the window, adding to the danger of the flight. We lost both magnetos, causing the engine to fail and forcing us to make an emergency hard landing.

In this updated video, I’m sharing still photos of the aircraft and the scene, along with my narration, giving a behind-the-scenes look at what happened that day. This is raw, first-hand reporting from the field — the kind of moments you never forget. I now never fly without my Bose A30.

Photographer Matt England documented what happened that day in the footage below.