3 In Crashed Medical Plane Found Dead
Pastor Dale Morgan
3 In Crashed Medical Plane Found Dead*
Plane Was Heading To Alamosa, Then Colorado Springs
POSTED: 11:31 am MDT October 5, 2007
ALAMOSA, Colo. -- A pilot, flight nurse and paramedic heading to Alamosa
were killed after their medical plane crashed in the rugged South San
Juan Wilderness Area in southern Colorado Thursday night.
The fuselage of the twin-engine airplane was spotted at about 1 p.m.
Friday by the crew of a C-130 military aircraft that was helping in the
search for the missing plane.
A Blackhawk helicopter was flown in and one of its crew members was
lowered to the wreckage to check on the status of the plane's crew members.
The three on board the flight were confirmed to be dead. Their
identities have not been disclosed.
The plane was found in an area about 20 miles southwest of Alamosa,
where an emergency locator beacon was picked up.
The plane, owned by Eagle Air Medical Ambulance, disappeared on a flight
from Chinle, Ariz., to Alamosa, Colo. The plane was headed to Alamosa to
pick up a patient for transport to Colorado Springs, a HealthOne
spokeswoman said.
The twin-engine Beech King Air C-90A disappeared from radar at about
11:23 p.m. Thursday at an altitude of 11,700 feet. That was the last
radar contact the Federal Aviation Administration had with the plane.
"The fact that they lost radar and radio signal at the same time
indicates that something bad happened," said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor in
Seattle.
Searchers on horseback headed into the area Friday morning and search
planes from Cortez, Durango and Montrose were also called in to help.
High winds and fog in the area delayed the air search for several hours
Friday morning.
The search area was concentrated around Green Lake and Charlies Peak.
Searchers from Rio Grande County area were also participating.
The patient the plane was to pick up in Alamosa was transported by
ground ambulance to Walsenburg and then flown to Colorado Springs.
Troubled Past?
Eagle Air Med is based in Blanding, Utah. A spokesman for the company
said, "We are not giving out any information at this time."
The company ordered an immediate stand-down of all its aircraft,
according to the company Web site.
The company supplies air ambulance service to the Four Corners area of
Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, according to its Web site.
The Gallup Independent newspaper reported in May 2004 that Eagle Air Med
has had a troubled past.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
withdrew Eagle Air's accreditation in December 2002, based on accidents
and incidents that the company failed to report as part of its
accreditation application, the newspaper reported.
The commission has withdrawn and suspended Eagle Air's accreditation at
least three times since 2002, according to the newspaper.