Another EMS Aircraft Loss

Air Safety Week, May 19, 2008

A University of Wisconsin medical flight ended in tragedy May 10 with the fatal nighttime crash of an American Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter on a wooded bluff five miles outside downtown La Crosse, WI.

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) helicopter was on a return trip to Madison after ferrying a patient to a La Crosse hospital.

The craft lost contact with the airport shortly after takeoff at 10:48 p.m. Killed in the crash were a flight physician, flight nurse and the pilot employed by Air Methods, which operated the EMS flights for the university hospital. No patient was onboard the aircraft when it went down.

Officials have said the medical helicopter appeared to strike a hill or trees shortly after taking off from the La Crosse airport, according to local news accounts.

Air Methods said the EC-135 twin-engine helicopter served the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison, WI.

The helicopter was equipped with satellite tracking and disappeared shortly after lifting off following refueling.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of the University of Wisconsin's Med Flight and Air Methods' crew members, and extend our heartfelt condolences to the members of their families and those they served with," said Aaron Todd, chief executive officer of Air Methods.

The cause of the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

[Copyright 2006 Access Intelligence, LLC. All rights reserved.]