Mercy Air Crew Remembered for Spirit

Though a helicopter crash on Dec. 10 cost the three crew members their lives, family and colleagues of the Mercy Air 2 crew said the paths that brought them on board the medical transport flight could hardly be called an accident.

"They did what they loved," said David Dolstein, who spoke on behalf of Mercy Air's parent company, Air Methods Corp., at a memorial for the crew Monday at High Desert Church in Victorville. "Paul, Katrina and Jerry were professionals willing to step into harm's way."

Pilot Paul Latour, 46, had retired from the Army a few years ago for his dream job of flying for Mercy Air.

Katrina Kish, 42, worked feverishly - first in classrooms, then in hospitals - to earn her spot as a flight nurse for one of Mercy Air's busiest crews.

Jerry Miller, 40, the crew's paramedic, was a kidder with a love for the adventurous life of an air medic and boundless concern for his youngest patients.

The memorial service came eight days after the crew's helicopter crashed in the hills of Cajon Pass as it returned home from delivering a patient to Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Miller, Latour and Kish were the flight's only passengers, and were remembered by family and colleagues for their professionalism, courage and friendship.

The three worked out of Mercy Air's Victorville air base, racing across a vast territory in a helicopter jokingly dubbed the Winnebago .

That remote aspect of their work did not lessen the blow of their deaths to the emergency responder community. Monday's memorial ceremony was organized by the incident command, which first responded to last week's crash.

Family, friends, dozens of Mercy Air crew members in their navy blue flight suits, firefighters, sheriff's deputies and medical personnel nearly filled the church's 2,500-seat auditorium.

Miller was a former firefighter who had worked in Bakersfield and Ventura County. Latour had retired from active-duty military service at Fort Irwin. Kish served as a reserve deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

"Thank you, Mercy Air," a man shouted at the end of the indoor ceremony. He was answered with a standing ovation.

In a montage of photos, Latour posed with his family astride dirt bikes. Kish appeared in wedding photos taken on the back of a fire truck. Miller held a guitar in a teenage snapshot. All three appeared repeatedly in helicopters, grinning beneath their flight helmets.

Many of the service's speakers said it gave some comfort that the crew died after completing a mission.

"In the flash of a moment, Jerry departed and entered the presence of God," said his Mercy Air colleague Katy Hadduck. "Dear friend, welcome home."

A procession of bagpipe players finished their rendition of "Amazing Grace," and then the Last Call for the crew was read over the radio twice.

Under a cold, clearing sky, a helicopter escorted by two planes flew over the church, followed by five helicopters in succession. Finally, in tight triangular formation, three more passed above.

Staff writer Jeff Horwitz can be reached at (909) 386-3856.

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