Several Bird Carcasses Found In The Wreckage

The NTSB has released a preliminary report from an accident which occurred on November 19 involving a Bell 407 helicopter which impacted terrain near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The pilot and two medical crew members were fatally injured, and the helicopter was substantially damaged.

The helicopter was registered to and operated by Air Methods under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Night VFR conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on a company visual flight rules flight plan.

The flight originated from Pines Bluff, Arkansas, and was en route to pick up a patient in Helena, Arkansas.
Residents near the accident site reported hearing a boom and seeing a fire plume. Local law enforcement located the wreckage on private property on the bank of a reservoir.

A post impact fire consumed a majority of the fuselage. All major helicopter components were located at the accident site. Several bird carcasses were located in the wreckage of the helicopter.

Television station KTBS reports that the three people on board the aircraft were 6-year-old pilot Michael Bollen, of Hot Springs; 61-year-old flight nurse James Lawson Spruiell, of Sulligent, Alabama; and 26-year-old flight paramedic John "Trey" Auld III, of Shreveport.

(Image from file. Not accident helicopter)

FMI: Preliminary report