Times Daily
Copyright 2008 Times Daily

TUSCUMBIA, Ala. — This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On December 30, 2007, at 0306 central standard time, a Bell 206L-3, N109AE, owned and operated by Air Evac EMS Inc., was destroyed during collision with terrain while maneuvering near Cherokee, Alabama. The certificated airline transport pilot, paramedic, and flight nurse were fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local search flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

According to the Safety Program Manager at Air Evac, the flight was initiated after they were notified of a missing hunter, who may have been injured or suffering from exposure. The flight was a voluntary mission, as the operator would not receive payment for the flight unless the hunter required air transport to a hospital. The Safety Program Manager further stated that the three occupants were all employees of Air Evac, and as such, the flight was conducted under CFR Part 91. Although no flight plan was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Air Evac had a dispatch department, and maintained its own computerized flight-tracking program. According to the tracking data, the flight departed Northwestern Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama about 0200, and arrived over the search area about 0215.

Full Story: NTSB releases preliminary report of fatal air ambulance crash