Medical transportation helicopter carrying patient crashes in North Carolina

MACON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A medical transportation EC-135 helicopter carrying a patient crashed Thursday night in North Carolina.

Macon County 911 Communications Supervisor Todd Seagle said a call declaring an emergency came in about 7 p.m. and, moments after the call ended, the helicopter went down.

A spokesperson withErlanger Health Systemin Tennessee confirmed aLIFE FORCE 6 helicoptercrashed while transporting a patient.

Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks said the helicopter was traveling to Mission Hospital when it crashed along Middle Burningtown Road with four people onboard. Holbrooks also confirmed all four were alive.

Macon County Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe said the aircraft was transporting a patient and three crew members from a medical facility in Murphy. Three people involved in the crash were transported by ground ambulance to Mission Hospital with minor to moderate injuries and one patient was transported to Angel Medical Center for evaluation, he said.

Seagle saidthe patient and two crew members were taken to Mission. The pilot was not transported.

Cabe added that there was no fire, but the aircraft sustained severe damage.

A section of the road will be closed until at least late in the day Friday as investigators sift through the wreckage and work to determine the cause of the crash, Cabe said.

TheErlanger Health System spokesperson said only preliminary details were available, but that this is the first crash in the LIFE FORCE program's 34-year history.

According to LIFE FORCE Air Medical, the company began operating out of Andrews, N.C., in August 2017, when it opened a base at the Western North Carolina Airport. LIFE FORCE operates two air-bus helicopters out of the base.