FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A helicopter ferrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon collided into another chopper carrying a patient near a northern Arizona hospital, leaving six people dead and critically injuring a nurse.
The collision Sunday east of Flagstaff Medical Center was a few hundred yards away from a neighborhood that was spared the falling debris. Officials said they were unable to provide an account of what preceded the crash.
Lawrence Garduno, who lives about a half mile from the crash, said he heard a loud boom that rattled the windows. He drove toward the hospital and stopped to see the burning wreckage. "It kind of scares me," Garduno said. "If this had happened a half mile closer, it could have fallen on our house."
An explosion on one of the aircraft after the crash injured two emergency workers who arrived with a ground ambulance company. They suffered minor burns and were spending the night at the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening. The crash, about 130 miles north of Phoenix, also sparked a 10-acre brush fire that was contained.
One of the helicopters was operated by Air Methods from Englewood, Colo., and the other was from Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah. Both aircraft were Bell 407 models, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Three people on the Air Methods aircraft, including the patient, died. On the Classic helicopter, the pilot, paramedic and patient all died. A flight nurse on the Classic helicopter suffered extensive injuries and was in critical condition at the hospital.
Matt Stein, a program director and lead pilot with Classic Helicopters subsidiary Classic Lifeguard Aeromedical Services in Page, Ariz., said his company's crew was landing at Flagstaff Medical Center carrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon's South Rim.
"We've been in business 20 years, and these are the first fatalities we've experienced," Stein said. "They were all heroes. They were out doing a great service for their communities."
Stein didn't tell The Associated Press the names of the crash victims, except to say that the pilot for Classic was experienced with more than 10,000 hours of flight time. He added that it's rare for two medical helicopters to attempt to land at a hospital at the same time.
Flagstaff Medical Center doesn't have flight controllers, he said, and it's up to the pilots to watch each other as they approach.
Air Methods officials didn't return calls from the AP on Sunday night.
The helicopters spread debris across the scene. "They're not recognizable as helicopters," said Capt. Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Flagstaff Fire Department.
The FAA is sending inspectors to investigate.
Hospital officials declined requests to interview the hospital president and the two burn victims.
It was the largest loss of life involving helicopters in Arizona since two news helicopters collided last summer while covering an auto chase near Phoenix, killing all four people on board.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
National News
June 30, 2008
Helicopter collision in northern Arizona kills 6
- National News
-
-
With broad styles of music on center stage, Summer Motion crowds continue to stir
With only his voice and acoustic guitar to begin with, Kenny Loggins immediately raised thousands of voices on the banks of the Ohio River as he opened Tuesday’s headline performance for Summer Motion with a rousing rendition of “Danny’s Song.”
-
Longtime journalist Daniel Schorr dead at age 93
Veteran reporter and commentator Daniel Schorr, whose hard-hitting reporting for CBS got him on President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, has died. He was 93.
- Pulitzers handed out When the Pulitzer board handed out the most important prizes in journalism, The New York Times and The Washington Post topped the list of winners— and finalists — as usual.
-
'Smart grid' - buzz of the electric power industry
Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet.
-
Analysis: Obama couldn't let automaker fail
President Barack Obama couldn't let General Motors fail, but he won't concede he's taking over the company.
-
General Motors files for bankruptcy and a new start
General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as part of the Obama administration's plan to shrink the automaker to a sustainable size and give a majority ownership stake to the federal government.
-
Missing Air France jet hit turbulence over Atlantic
An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris hit strong turbulence and lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
-
Obama picks Sotomayor for US high court
President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated a Hispanic judge, Sonia Sotomayor, to the U.S. Supreme Court, a choice unlikely to shift the ideological balance on the country's highest judicial panel.
-
Obama takes presidential oath _ again
After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again.
-
Hillary Clinton confirmed and sworn in at State
The Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state Wednesday as President Barack Obama moved to make his imprint on U.S. foreign policy, mobilizing a fresh team of veteran advisers and reaching out to world leaders.
- More National News Headlines
-
With broad styles of music on center stage, Summer Motion crowds continue to stir
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
