What: Medical Bell 407 en route from Mason City to Emmetsburg Iowa
Where: Ventura Iowa
When: Jan 2 2013
Who: 3 Fatalities
Why: A Mercy Air Med medical helicopter crash was en route to pick up a patient when it crashed on Wednesday at 9 p.m killing Pilot Gene Grell, paramedic Russell Piehl, and Nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbau. The pilot had 2,800 hours flight time.
The weather at the time was a light freezing drizzle, fog and mist at 8 p.m. at the Mason City airport, 27 degrees, and overcast conditions at 9 p.m.
The patient was taken by ambulance to Mercy-North Iowa Hospital.
The helicopter service of Mercy Medical Center-North that employed the pilot is Med-Trans. The nurse and paramedic worked for the hospital.
The crash occurred fifteen miles from where it took off. The helicopter did not have a black box but it did have a tracking satellite system. The Bell 407 was new in April 2011 and had night-vision goggles, a terrain warning system and a satellite tracking system.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating. Weather is being investigated as a possible cause. There was no SOS or emergency communication from the helicopter. The wreckage will probably be relocated on Jan 4 2013. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department is keeping the site secure.
United Airlines flight UA-459 made an emergency landing in Los Angeles, California, on December 1st.
