Federal officials have released an initial report regarding the medical helicopter crash that killed three Mississippians.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirms that an AirCare 3 chopper was en route to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus on March 10 after transporting a patient to Jackson for treatment.
While heading northeast, the helicopter’s pilot, 62-year-old Cal Wesolowski, communicated with local air traffic control at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International that he was “clear to the north” a few minutes before all communication was lost.
Prior to the crash, the helicopter had elevated around 2,500 feet above mean sea level and flown over the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The chopper started to descend in Madison County when one of the occupants signaled over the radio that there was a problem on board and that an emergency landing was taking place. Then, all went dark from the helicopter.
While descending, the helicopter, which was leased to the University of Mississippi Medical Center by Texas-based Med Trans, reportedly hit multiple trees before landing in a grass field near the Turcotte Fish Hatchery in Canton. A blaze that broke out following the crash engulfed the helicopter.
Wesolowski, 35-year-old Dustin Pope, and 37-year-old Jacob Kindt were killed in the collision. Pope and Kindt were aboard the chopper as medical staff. All three men were from the Magnolia State.
Officials are unable to test the functionality of the helicopter’s systems due to the damage done by the fire. The debris was removed from the scene of the crash and taken to an unspecified location by authorities. According to the NTSB, the helicopter had been inspected hours before the deadly accident.
