Passengers in Copterline's Helsinki terminal discussed on Thursday morning the previous night's javelin finals and Finland's lack of medals in the current World Championships - actually talking about anything else but the helicopter crash of Wednesday.
People were nervous about the trip. At least Miikka Metso from Naantali was very excited. "This is my first helicopter flight", he confessed.
Miikka was about to go to Tallinn with his grandfather Eero Sihvonen, who had given him the trip as a birthday present. First to Tallinn by chopper and then a return by a high-speed ferry in the evening.
Actually the 12-seat helicopter had only two seats vacant. This fact delighted the English passenger who was a technical expert of the helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky. He was on his way to investigate the accident.
Assisted by Copterline's terminal staff and watched by TV and newspaper cameras, the silent passengers boarded the helicopter around noon, and about twenty minutes later the helicopter arrived in Tallinn. The captain this time was Copterline's Managing Director Kari Ljungberg himself.
"It was fun", Miikka Metso commented when the helicopter landed.
But the excitement was hardly over yet. Estonian TV cameras were waiting for the passengers at the doorstep of the terminal. Only afterwards could Miikka reach the main destination of his trip.
"It's the Hesburger hamburger restaurant in the Old Town of Tallinn", revealed grandpa Sihvonen.
