Three air ambulance crews were killed when a helicopter they were flying to transport patients to a field in Oklahoma crashed over the weekend.
Late Saturday night, a Bell 206L3 helicopter Air Evac Life Team The plane was returning to its base in Weatherford, Oklahoma, after transporting a patient to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, about 105 miles east of Weatherford. According to AEL Facebook Page, just before 11:30 p.m., the AEL operations control center lost contact with the air ambulance helicopter.
Other AEL team members then assisted law enforcement in the search for the missing helicopter. Sadly, they later learned that it had crashed in a field at Hydro, less than 10 miles from Weatherford. All three crew members on board the helicopter were killed in the accident.
The next part of KOCO shows the catastrophic destruction of the aircraft.
Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter crash near Hydro, 3 deadwww.youtube.com
AEL's initial post did not name the crew members, but a follow-up message posted Monday afternoon revealed the names of those missing. Adam Tebben, Flight Nurse. and aviation paramedic Stephen Fitzgerald.
“Russell, Adam and Stephen, we will miss you so much. We will recover from this,” the Facebook message concluded.
So far, few details about the crash have been released.of National Transportation Safety Board It will then take over the investigation and look into weather data, air traffic control communications and pilot background checks, among other possible factors.
It is understandable that family, friends, AEL, and community members are desperate for answers. However, those answers are unlikely to come soon. A preliminary report is expected for at least a month, and a full investigation could take up to two years, KOCO said.
Air Evac Lifeteam operates in 18 states and claims to be the “nation's largest provider of helicopter air ambulance services,” especially to people living in rural areas such as western Oklahoma. Up to 90% of patients transported by AEL are from rural areas.
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