It was a hot summer day in July of 1997 when a routine traffic report turned into breaking news for me. The Bell 47 I was flying in over the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin experienced a loss of engine power, forcing the pilot to make a hard, emergency landing near a local police station.

Our main helicopter was down for maintenance, and it was the first time I had flown in this particular aircraft — and it would be the last. The helicopter was heavily damaged, but everyone walked away safely.

Even so, the experience stayed with me. What could have ended my flying career instead became the moment that defined it. I wasn’t afraid to get back in the air, and I would go on to fly for another 30 years.

After that hard landing, I never flew without a reliable aviation headset again. This is the model I use today.

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