No Patient Was On Board The Aircraft When It Went Down

Three members of a medical helicopter crew were fatally injured Friday when the aircraft they were aboard went down near Hazelhurst, WI about 150 miles northwest of Green Bay.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the aircraft was flying for Ascension Health Spirit. According to Oneida County Sheriff's chief deputy Dan Hess, all three people on board the aircraft were flight flight crew members, and no patient was on board the aircraft when it went down.

Air Methods provides aviation operations for Ascension, according to the report. In a statement released jointy on Friday, the companies said that they were suspending all air and ground operations until it was determined that it was appropriate to resume such operations. The companies were working with other providers to accommodate patients and clients.

Contact with the aircraft was lost at 10:55 p.m. Thursday. A call went out about 25 minutes later that the aircraft was missing. The helicopter was found Friday morning in heavily wooded, swampy terrain that was difficult to reach.

The helicopter had delivered a patient to Madison Hospital and was returning to its home base in Woodruff, WI when contact was lost. The accident site was about 12 miles from the base.

(Image from file. Not accident aircraft)

FMI: Original report