MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the medical helicopter crash in Mississippi that killed three people.
According to the NTSB, AirCare 3 was was returning to its home base at Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) in Columbus after the crew transported a patient to the St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital Heliport in Jackson.
According to preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the helicopter initially communicated with air traffic control (ATC) at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers
International Airport (JAN). About five minutes before the accident, the pilot reported “clear to the north” and terminated communication with JAN ATC.
Data showed that the helicopter began to climb to the northeast and flew over the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The helicopter eventually reached an altitude of about 2,500 feet above mean sea level (msl).
Shortly after the helicopter flew over the Pearl River State Wildlife Management Area in Madison County, the NTSB said it began to descend. About halfway through the descent, the flight nurse transmitted over the radio to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) MED-COM, “we’ve got a major problem, we are having an emergency landing in a field right now, ops are not good, controls are giving us a lot of trouble, coming in fast.” No further radio transmissions were recorded from the helicopter.
According to the NTSB, the helicopter turned to the north during the descent and hit multiple trees. It came to a rest on the southern end of a grass field. The accident site was located about 1/4 mile southwest of the Turcotte Fish Hatchery. Officials said the wreckage was destroyed by a postimpact fire that burned for nearly three hours.
A witness reported to the NTSB that the pilot of the helicopter was “having trouble controlling” it. He reported he did not see any smoke or fire from the helicopter.
Due to post-crash fire damage, the NTSB said none of the helicopter systems could be functionally tested. The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and transported to a secure location.
NTSB Preliminary Report:
UMMC identified the victims as Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia; Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo; and Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville.
Pope was the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus and a flight nurse. Kindt was a critical care paramedic. They had both started working for UMMC on August 14, 2017, according to officials. Wesolowski was the Med-Trans pilot.
According to officials, AirCare 3 was manufacutured in 2012 and was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 turboshaft engines, an autopilot system, and a crash-resistant fuel system. It was transferred to the MedTrans operating certificate in 2020.
Officials said the helicopter underwent its most recent inspection during an approved aircraft inspection program, which was about 2.7 hours before the accident.