“You never know what a day is going to bring, but today brought a terrible tragedy and loss to the medical center family,” LouAnn Woodward, MD, the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s vice chancellor for health affairs, said in the statement.
The crash occurred in a wooded area as the helicopter, identified by the FAA as a Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter, was traveling back to Columbus, where it is based, according to hospital officials. The helicopter had flown to the medical center to transport a patient. No patients were on board at the time of the accident.
The FAA said in a statement that the helicopter crashed around 1:15 p.m., and the agency, alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, will investigate the accident, including the cause.
Hospital officials have not released the names of those on board at the time of the accident.
Med-Trans shared the following statement with Becker’s:
“It is with deep sadness that we confirm the loss of three AirCare crew members in an accident including our Med-Trans pilot and two care team members from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The aircraft, an Airbus EC-135P2+ (N835CS), lost contact with our Communication Center at 12:35 p.m. local time while returning to base in Columbus, Miss., after completing a patient transport in Jackson, Miss.
“Our top priority is supporting the families, our team members and our partners during this difficult time. Critical Incident Stress Management teams have been deployed to provide support, and additional resources are available.
“Med-Trans is working closely with the FAA and NTSB as they are conducting a thorough investigation into this tragedy. Out of respect for this important process, we will not be providing further comment while this work is underway.
“At this time, we are not releasing the names of the crew members to protect the privacy of their loved ones.”
“Their families have been notified, and we want to express our deepest condolences,” Dr. Woodward said. “The entire medical center family is heartbroken over this. We also want to express our concern and sadness and support for the AirCare team.”
AirCare, a helicopter emergency medical service, operates with the medical center providing the clinical teams, while Med-Trans Corp. supplies the pilots and manages aircraft operations. Hospital officials noted that this was the first crash in the 29-year history of the AirCare service.
