Medical Helicopter Crash Off Catalina Island Kills Three as Divers Find Missing Patient
The REACH Air Medical aircraft went down shortly after takeoff Wednesday night; the NTSB is investigating and the wreckage lies about 200 feet underwater.
Police divers on Thursday recovered the body of a patient who had been missing since a medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, raising the death toll from the crash to three.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department divers found the woman in the wreckage after searching more than 156 square miles over about 23 hours. The helicopter came to rest roughly 200 feet underwater.
The aircraft, a Eurocopter EC-135-P2 operated by REACH Air Medical Services of Sacramento, went down shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday, soon after taking off from the island. Five people were aboard. The male pilot and a female nurse died at the scene.
The woman who was missing had been flying from Catalina to the mainland for medical care after an allergic reaction. Her 20-year-old son went with her to help translate. Another medic and a man were hospitalized, and both are in stable condition.
The helicopter had made a 24-minute flight from Oceanside airport and landed on the island at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, before picking up the patient for the return trip. Emergency crews were called to the water shortly before 8 p.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, and the cause is not yet clear. The helicopter will be moved to a secure facility for evaluation. Investigators typically look at the aircraft's maintenance history, the weather and visibility at the time, the pilot's training and the aircraft's flight data when they are available. A preliminary report usually follows within weeks, with a final finding taking a year or longer.
REACH Air Medical Services said in a statement that "our focus will remain on caring for our people, supporting their families and honoring the lives and service of those we have lost."
The crash is the latest in a run of helicopter accidents in California. In the previous two weeks, a firefighting helicopter crashed in Yosemite and a news helicopter went down in Los Angeles. The three accidents are separate events, and investigators have not linked them.
Catalina Island sits off the Southern California coast, and serious medical cases are typically flown to the mainland, which makes air ambulance flights a routine part of life for residents and the many visitors who arrive by ferry and boat. Flights at night over open water are among the most demanding missions for air medical crews, because pilots lose the visual horizon and rely heavily on instruments.
The sheriff's department said the recovery effort lasted through the night and into Thursday. The families of those killed have not been publicly identified by authorities.
