A medical helicopter crashed amid heavy rain and fog in central California, killing all four people aboard, officials said.
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SkyLife Air Ambulance is a partnership between American Ambulance and Roger’s Helicopters which provides air medical transportation for critically ill trauma and medical patients, according to its website.
ABC7 sister station KFSN-TV reports the helicopter from the company Skylife had taken off from Porterville Municipal Airport and was headed to Meadows Field Airport near Bakersfield when it went missing shortly before 7 p.m. Debris was found in the field at about 9 p.m. near State Route 65. “Tragically, four lives – our patient, a pilot, flight paramedic and nurse – were lost in a devastating crash”, San Joaquin Community Hospital said in a statement on its Facebook page.
A Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter team reported their sighting of a debris field near McFarland at around 20:35 hrs.
Kern County officials were then contacted about the helicopter and they were told to respond to the last known location using the helicopter’s GPS system, Lynch said.
The poor weather meant that it was some two hours before responders were able to locate and reach the accident site.
The helicopter, operated by air ambulance company SkyLife, crashed during a 50-mile trip to a Bakersfield hospital.
Lynch said the discovery was likely as painful for Kern County fire and sheriff’s personnel as it was for American Ambulance staff, since they would have met the air crew at to crashes and other medical emergencies requiring air transport.
The pilot was Thomas Hampl, 49, the nurse was Marco Lopez, 42, and the paramedic was Kyle Juarez, 37, Valeri said Friday, said Todd Valeri, president of the helicopter’s owner and operator Todd Valeri.
Air Ambulance’s Skylife Air Medical service operates three helicopters out of the Fresno and Visalia airports. The patient was a woman, but her name was not yet being released, Valeri said.
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“They were very well liked, these individuals”, Lynch said.
