No Patient On Board When Aircraft Went Down In A Wooded Area

A medical helicopter that went down in a wooded area of Tennessee en route to pick up a patient Tuesday made an unusual course change prior to the accident, according to the NTSB. No reason for that course change was given.

Three people were on board the aircraft when it went down about 45 miles east of Memphis. All were fatally injured.

NTSB investigator Ralph Hicks said in a briefing for the media that the sick child who was to have been transported in the aircraft was not aboard when it went down, according to the Associated Press.

Two of those on board were employees of Le Bonheur Hospital, which issued a news release identifying the pilot, 47-year-old Charles Smith, 43-year-old nurse Carrie Barlow and 43-year-old respiratory therapist Denise Adams.

The helicopter was operated by the medical transportation company Hospital Wing, which transports patients to medical facilities within a 150-mile radius of Memphis with seven helicopters. Company spokeswoman Lisa Harlow said operations are currently suspended while the accident is being investigated.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov