UMMC identifies three killed in helicopter crash

The University of Mississippi Medical Center has identified the three people killed in Monday’s helicopter crash. 

The two UMMC employees were Dustin Pope and Jakob Kindt, and the Med-Trans pilot was Cal Wesolowski. 

Kindt was a critical care paramedic from Tupelo.  Pope, a Philadelphia native, was a flight nurse and the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus. Wesolowski was from Starkville.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transport Safety Board are investigating the crash. Meanwhile, UMMC is temporarily halting its AirCare program and providing support to the passengers’ loved ones. 

Columbus-based AirCare 3, one of four helicopters UMMC leased from Med-Trans, had dropped off a patient and refueled for a return trip when it crashed shortly after noon in a heavily wooded area of Madison County near the Natchez Trace Parkway, killing all aboard.

“UMMC is offering support to the team members and families affected by this loss and will continue to support the AirCare and Mississippi Center for Emergency Services teams and Medical Center employees in any way possible,” according to a UMMC news release.

The post UMMC identifies three killed in helicopter crash appeared first on Mississippi Today.