1 dead, 2 injured after medical helicopter crashes on a Tucson street

1 dead, 2 injured in Tucson helicopter crash

TUCSON, Ariz. — A medical helicopter crashed on a Tucson street and burst into flames Wednesday, killing one person and injuring two others. A witness said the pilot steered the plummeting chopper away from a house.

Witnesses told The Arizona Daily Star the helicopter crashed into a fence in front of the house on Park Avenue just south of Glenn Street.

The helicopter is owned by Colorado-based AirMethods. Craig Yale, vice president of corporate development for AirMethods, said they were aware of the crash and have a management team headed to the site.

Federal Aviation Administration officials said the helicopter was traveling to Douglas from the University Medical Center when it crashed about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday but was not transporting a patient at the time.

The helicopter was in contact with air traffic controllers before the accident, and there was no indication of trouble, FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said.

Ricardo Carrasco told the Star he saw the helicopter plummet to the ground after the rotors stopped working. He says the pilot managed to steer it away from the house.

Part of the plane’s tail was jutting into the road, said Robert Davis, whose lives across the street from the crash site.

“The only thing you can see is the tail really,” Davis said. “The rest is just gone, burnt.”

Tucson firefighters extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported on the ground.

A University Medical Center official said the hospital was not yet able to release any information on the two survivors.

In June 2008, six people were killed when two medical helicopters collided near Flagstaff Medical Center in northern Arizona.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations to the FAA in 2009 to increase safety standards on emergency helicopter operators following a record number of fatalities involving emergency medical aircraft in 2008. There were nine accidents between December 2007 and October 2008, killing 35 people. Of those nine accidents, six involved helicoptors.