Lifeflight A-109K2 Down

[Heli-Ops]

LifeFlight Helicopter Crashes in Dense Fog, Killing 2 Medics

 

BY ASHLEY BROUGHTON

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

 

    A LifeFlight helicopter from LDS Hospital crashed in dense fog Friday near 5600 West and Interstate 80, killing two medics and leaving a third in critical condition.

 

    The helicopter, en route to Wendover, had turned around because of fog rolling in when the crash occurred just before 9 p.m., authorities said. It was awaiting clearance to cross a Salt Lake City International Airport runway when "something went wrong," said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag.

 

    It took emergency personnel 20 to 30 minutes, he said, to find the crash site because of foggy conditions and reduced visibility. The helicopter went down about 200 yards east of 5600 West near I-80.

 

    Identities of those on board were not available. Freitag said all the crew members were male. The injured member was transported by ground to LDS Hospital. Freitag said he was "conscious and breathing," but did not know the extent of his injuries. He was found outside the wreckage, but authorities were not sure if he managed to extricate himself.

 

    Authorities were awaiting the arrival of officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday night.

 

    Employees at an RCWilley warehouse nearby heard the helicopter hovering, and thought it might have been "powering down," Freitag said. They also heard the crash, but could not see it because of the fog.

 

    The two victims were pinned underneath the helicopter, which had rolled over onto its side, he said.

 

    The crash sent shock waves through Utah's medical community.

    "We are absolutely devastated," said Intermountain Health Care spokesman Jess Gomez. "That's part of a family up there. Those crews put their lives on the line every day."

 

    The helicopter may have been responding to the scene of a single-car rollover accident about 20 miles east of the Utah-Nevada border on westbound I-80, said Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Chris Kramer. Paramedics who responded to the scene initially believed the man was dead, but after rescuscitating him they requested air transport.

 

    The man, Wayne Olsen, 45, of West Bountiful, died after being taken to Tooele Regional Hospital, said Kramer. A woman critically injured in the accident was later taken to LDS Hospital.

 

    University of Utah hospital spokeswoman Anne Brillinger said their emergency helicopter, AirMed, had been called out first on the Wendover emergency.

 

    "They saw the fog cover was too deep and turned back to the helipad," she said.

 

    LifeFlight helicopters are manned by a three-person crew -- a pilot, paramedic and nurse, Gomez said. It was unclear Friday which crew members were killed.

 

    The crash marked the first time in nearly 25 years of transporting patients that LifeFlight members have died in the line of duty, Gomez said.

 

    The last medical helicopter crash was in January 1998, when a University of Utah-based AirMed helicopter crashed during a rescue attempt. Four men died.  The AirMed team "extends its deepest sympathies to our brothers and sisters of IHC LifeFlight," said Brillinger. "We share the same skies, the same mission, and at this time, the same sorrow."

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