What’s the Mercy One helicopter doing in a field near Pleasantville?  Mercy officials tell KNIA/KRLS News that at approximately one this morning an indicator light came on in the cockpit during a flight, and as per flight protocols, the pilot made a controlled landing at the first opportunity.  There was no emergency, and no patient was on board.  Mechanics are checking out the helicopter.  Earlier this spring a similar situation occurred, and the helicopter set down in Pella.  Mercy officials liken the situation to a driver pulling to the side of the road in a car if an indicator light came on.

Mercy officials says that they will be loading the helicopter up onto a truck and taking it back to their Knoxville base at the Knoxville Airport. There, they’ll be able to examine the helicopter more closely to discover why the indicator light went on. A backup helicopter has been put into operation as of 11:30 this morning and is operating out of Knoxville. They add it’ll remain in operation until repairs have been made on the other helicopter.