A medical helicopter crashed Thursday night in Central California, and although an official cause has yet to be determined, officials say poor weather conditions were likely a factor.
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Valeri later confirmed it as the crash site of SkyLife H-4 and said the pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic and patient had all died in the crash.
The helicopter was flying from Porterville Municipal Airport to San Joaquin Community Hospital and was carrying a pilot, a flight paramedic and a critically-ill patient. The helicopter went down in dense fog in an area known to have overhead powerlines, Valeri said.
Valeri says when the dispatch center failed to make contact with the helicopter, it immediately contacted the airport towers in Fresno and Bakersfield.
The media was kept miles back from the crash site as crews drive in and out of this private property in Kern County where helicopter wreckage spans about 465 feet.
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 power lines in the area did not appear to have an effect, Cawthra said.
Three of the victims were identified Friday as 49-year-old Thomas Hampl, 42-year-old Marco Lopez and 37-year-old Kyle Juarez. Lynch oversees emergency medical services in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties. “They had been a team for quite some time”.
The names of the crew and the patient were not released Thursday night. “It’s just so tragic and devastating”, Valeri said.
American Ambulance, which co-owns SkyLife, employs about 12 pilots, 12 paramedics and 12 nurses, the company told NBC News.
Medical flights have repeatedly drawn safety scrutiny, including a 1988 NTSB study that found need for improvement.
Another recommendation urged use of terrain awareness and warning systems and night-vision imaging systems.
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The helicopter went down amid rolling hills of cattle-grazing country east of the town of McFarland, 135 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
