EDIS Number: VI-20091115-23846-USA
Date / time: 15/11/2009 10:41:11 [UTC]
Event: Vehicle Accident
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Nevada
City: Unknow
Number of Deads: 3 persons
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Investigators say the pilot of a medical helicopter issued a mayday moments before the aircraft crashed into a hilly area north of Reno near the Nevada-California state line. All three crew members - the pilot, flight nurse and paramedic - were killed. The FAA said the helicopter -- an Aerospatiale AS350 -- had dropped off a patient at a Reno hospital and was returning to its base in Susanville, Calif., when it crashed around 2 a.m. Saturday. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said a witness driving nearby told authorities he saw nothing unusual about the helicopter's flight before it fell rapidly from the sky. The witness said he saw a fireball when the helicopter hit the ground. The helicopter was operated by Mountain Lifeflight in Susanville, which issued a statement Saturday afternoon identifying the dead as pilot James Bradshaw, flight nurse Clinton Reger and paramedic Christopher Ritz.