Preliminary report: MEDEVAC crash fatal for pilot, crew

Eurocopter AS 350BA, Doyle, Calif., Nov. 14, 2009–Operated by Mountain Lifeflight, N5793P was on a Part 91 positioning flight when it crashed. The AStar had just delivered a patient in Reno and was returning to its base in Susanville, Calif., when its dispatch received a garbled distress call. A witness saw the light helicopter descending vertically at a rapid rate, and then noted a fireball after it disappeared from view. The pilot and two passengers died in the crash, and the AS 350 was destroyed.