Three killed in air ambulance crash|Arkansas News
All 3 crew lost
LINTON — A medical helicopter en route to pick up a patient crashed early today near Scotland in Van Buren County, killing all three crew members aboard, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 4 a.m. as the Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter, based in Vilonia, was on its way to Crabtree to meet an ambulance to pick up a patient, Air Evac spokeswoman Julie Heavrin said.
She identified the victims as pilot Kenneth Robertson of Searcy, flight nurse Kenneth Meyer Jr. of Center Ridge and flight paramedic Gayla Gregory of Clarksville.
The crash was the fourth for Air Evac since 2005, bringing the death toll to nine crew members and a patient.
The Bell 206 helicopter went down about 30 feet off Arkansas 95 in the Walnut Grove community, near a church. Debris was scattered along the highway.
The cause of the crash was not immediately determined. Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the scene at mid-morning to begin its investigation. The area was cordoned off and people were asked to stay away from the site.
Witnesses reported hearing pieces of debris falling through trees, followed by an explosion. Van Buren County Emergency Management Coordinator Jeana Williams said 911 Dispatch heard a call about 3:53 a.m. from Air Evac, saying, “Air Evac 30,” but got no response when the dispatch radioed back.
Within three minutes, 911 was inundated with calls of a fire, an explosion and a crash, and the Walnut Grove Volunteer Fire Department was called out, Williams said. State police and Van Buren County sheriff’s deputies also rushed to the scene.
The helicopter had been flying through fog, according to witnesses. It was not immediately known if weather played a role in the crash.
Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley said the accident could have been worse as people gathered in the area for the annual National Chuckwagon Races. The craft also cleared several houses in the area of the crash site.
Williams said the patient the Air Evac crew was to have pick up, a 50-year-old man, was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
According to its website, Air Evac Lifeteam is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, conducting its operations with 90 air medical bases across 14 states. Air Evac was formed in 1985.