Visalia-based crew killed in helicopter crash idenitified

When the dispatch center was unable to make contact with Skylife 4, they immediately contacted the airport towers in Fresno and Bakersfield. “They had been a team for quite some time”, he said.

“Hopefully at the end we’ll be able to say what happened, why it happened and ultimately prevent this type of accident from happening again”, Cawthra said. “Tragically, four lives – our patient, a pilot, flight paramedic and nurse – were lost in a devastating crash”, San Joaquin Community Hospital said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The helicopter’s Global Positioning System was tracked to the area of Highway 65 and Sherwood Avenue, just east of McFarland. A pilot, nurse, paramedic and one patient were on the flight, he added.

The crew members who died in a medical helicopter crash Thursday near McFarland were identified today by the company for whom they worked.

A press conference was held where the CEO of American ambulance, Todd Valeri, spoke about the tragedy, “We have a gather of our- we call it the SkyLife family”.

It was transferring a patient in critical condition from Porterville Airport to the San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, some 50 miles to the south. The name of the patient has not been released.

According to the FAA the tail number of the helicopter matches that of an American Ambulance Helicopter out of Fresno.

A sheriff’s helicopter reported finding debris around 8:35 p.m. and rescue crews reached the site around 10 p.m., confirming the fatalities.

The company transports about 1,000 patients per year from airports in Fresno and Visalia.

Ray Pruitt with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said the only way to get to the crash site is on dirt roads.

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