Victims Named in Utah-Based Medical Plane Crash
Utah-Based Eagle Medical Corp. identified those killed in the southern Colorado crash as pilot Ric Miller, flight paramedic Dana Dedman and flight nurse Ronnie Helton.
No survivors were found Friday in the wreckage of a Utah-based medical airplane that crashed in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado late Thursday.
Eagle Medical Corp., a Blanding-based company that operates the air ambulance, identified the dead as pilot Ric Miller, flight paramedic Dana Dedman and flight nurse Ronnie Helton. The company did not say where the victims were from.
"Our most humble and sincere condolences go out to the families in mourning," company officials said in a prepared statement. "Our hearts are broken. We have lost friends, co-workers and a part of our family - a family that is now pulling together in this difficult time."
No patients were aboard the plane when it crashed about 25 miles southwest of Alamosa, Colorado authorities said.
The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air C90 is owned by Blanding-based Scenic Aviation, and is licensed for operation by Eagle Medical Corp., which runs an air ambulance service in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
Airport officials lost radio and radar contact with the plane at 11:22 p.m. Thursday while the plane was en route from Chinle, Ariz., to Alamosa, Fergus said.
Officials in southwestern Colorado were notified about 9 a.m. Friday that the airplane might have gone down in a heavily mountainous area near the Archuleta/Conejos County line, Archuleta County Undersheriff John Weiss said.
"This is mountainous terrain that's very rugged and very remote - one of the most remote and rugged parts of the county," Weiss said.
An Air National Guard Osprey fixed-wing aircraft located the downed plane about 1:30 p.m. Friday. Later, a Blackhawk helicopter lowered a rescuer 200 meters below the crash site, situated at 11,800 feet.
"This was the maximum personnel allowable in the helicopter under the conditions of high altitude and low visibility, with showers, scattered thunderstorms and winds gusting to 50 mph," Weiss said in a news release.
The rescuer lowered from the Blackhawk located one passenger in the downed plane, the sheriff's office said. The victim was flown to Alamosa for identification. The other two crash victims were located outside the plane, but were not transported.
A four-man crew was later lowered from a Blackhawk helicopter to help with the recovery, and a second four-man crew is hiking to the crash site, Campbell said.
Investigators didn't know if the crew experienced problems prior to the crash. The area was pounded by severe thunderstorms and high winds the night before, Campbell said.
"I know we had dicey weather last night and again today," he said.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to visit the crash site, located on the downward slope of a ridge near Charley's Peak, Weiss said.
Those that responded to the downed plane included the Air National Guard, Colorado Mounted Search and Rescue, Upper San Juan Search and Rescue, a five-person Civil Air Patrol crew and the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office.
