Arizona: Six killed in mid-air collision between helicopters
Two medical helicopters collided yesterday afternoon about a half mile from a northern Arizona hospital, killing at least six people and critically injuring a nurse, a federal official said.
After the collision, the helicopters crashed in a wooded area east of Flagstaff Medical Centre and started a 10-acre brush fire that authorities were able to extinguish, said Coconino County sheriff’s spokesman Gerry Blair.
All three people on one of the helicopters were killed in the Flagstaff collision, including a patient and the pilot, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Capt Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Flagstaff Fire Department, said the helicopters "were not recognisable as helicopters".
Johnson said two emergency workers with a ground ambulance company suffered minor burns in an explosion on one of the aircraft after the crash. The injuries were not life-threatening, he said.
Both helicopters were Bell 407 models, according to the FAA. One was operated by Air Methods of Englewood, Colorado, and the other by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah.
The cause of the crash is being investigated. Hospital spokeswoman Starla Addair said she did not have any information to release.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said a team will leave for Flagstaff from Washington, D.C., on Monday to take over the crash investigation from the FAA.
Two news helicopters collided while covering an auto chase last summer near Phoenix, killing all four people on board.
Flagstaff is about 130 miles north of Phoenix.
