EagleMed Crash: Patient Dies in Latest Hospital Helicopter Crash (VIDEO, PHOTO)
An EagleMed crash has killed one and injured two others, in what is the third fatal crash of its kind in the past three years.
The latest incident, which took place on Tuesday in Southeastern Oklahoma, has sparked calls for the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the company.
According to local reports, the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) has suspended EagleMed's accreditation. However, Tuesday's crash near the Choctaw Nation Healthcare Center in Talihina, has led for some to call for even stronger action to be taken by authorities.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The patient being transported in the latest incident was killed in the shocking crash.
Aviation attorney and pilot Ladd Sanger says the FAA needs to take a much stronger stance: "This many crashes in this short period of time is indicative of a serious problem from an operational standpoint … That is going to have to get rectified, or this company is going to continue to put innocent people's lives in jeopardy."
It has been reported that both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the EagleMed crash. In response the company has stated it is cooperating with both agencies in their investigations.
Choctaw Nation Healthcare Center spokeswoman Janet Sharp has claimed that the helicopter carrying the patient, a paramedic, a nurse, and the pilot "lost power" and when it hit the ground it "caught on fire" at about 6.30 p.m. local time.
The patient killed has been identified as 49-year-old Michael David Wilson of Bethel.
Here is video footage of the crash aftermath:
