The NTSB is investigating a helicopter air ambulance crash that took place in Oklahoma on Saturday night and killed all three crew aboard. The 1991 Bell 206L3, registration N295AE and operated by Global Medical Response unit Air Evac, went down at approximately 11:23 p.m. local time.
According to FlightAware data, the helicopter was cruising at 111 knots and 1,700 feet while approaching an area of freezing precipitation near the town of Hydro. It was on a 70-mile repositioning flight from Oklahoma City to Weatherford. News photos show a largely contained crash site in a field with the main rotor separated from the primary wreckage area.
Air Evac identified the pilot yesterday. He had previous Army aviation experience and had flown civilian air medical missions since 2017, and held a second-class medical certificate and rotorcraft commercial and instrument ratings. Air Evac operates more than 160 air ambulances in 18 states.
The company was in the news last month when the federal government charged one of its former pilots for flying a passenger in an Air Evac helicopter while legally intoxicated.