By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are conducting a joint investigation into the crash of a medical helicopter Monday evening in Owen County that killed all three crew members aboard.
Kentucky State Police (KSP) at Post 5 in Campbellsburg say they received a call on Monday shortly after 5:30 p.m. (ET) alerting them to a helicopter crash in Owenton near Kentucky Highway 22 East.
Numerous KSP Post 5 troopers and other first responders responded to the scene.
Once on scene, troopers were able to determine that an Air Evac flight, which had three personnel on board en route to a medical transport, had crashed. Gale Alleman, Bethany Aicken and James Welsh were all pronounced dead at the scene by the Owen County coroner.
The Bell 206 helicopter, owned and operated by Air Evac Lifeteam (AEL), was based at Williamstown and part of AEL Base 133.
The aircraft and crew were on their way to pick up a patient. Media reports indicate the crash occurred after the helicopter struck a guywire. It burst into flames after it hit the ground.
According to a social media post from AEL, “This was a terribly tragic accident, and our deepest sympathies go out to the employees’ families and friends. Our primary focus now is on supporting the families who were impacted as well as our team members. Critical incident stress management teams have been sent to assist our team members during this difficult time.”
The company added they are working with the FAA and NTSB during their investigation of the crash.
Air Evac Lifeteam operates more than 150 helicopter air ambulance bases across 18 states, according to the company website. Crews consist of a pilot, a flight nurse, and a flight paramedic and are on duty seven days a week to respond to the scene of a medical emergency or to transport patients between medical facilities.
The NTSB says a preliminary report on the crash could be released within 30 days.