JACKSON – The crash of an AirCare helicopter in northern Madison County Monday claimed the lives of two University of Mississippi Medical Center care team members and a Med-Trans pilot.
“You never know what a day is going to bring, but today brought a terrible tragedy and loss to the Medical Center family,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs.
AirCare 3, based in Columbus, had flown to the Medical Center to transport a patient and was returning to Columbus when the accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. No patient was on board the helicopter.
Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia was the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus and a flight nurse, and Jacob Kindt, 37, was a critical care paramedic from Tupelo. They both started working for UMMC on Aug. 14, 2017. The Med-Trans pilot was Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville.
AirCare transport services have been temporarily grounded, and the Medical Center is working with health care and medical transportation services around the state to meet the needs of Mississippians.
“Their families have been notified, and we want to express our deepest condolences,” Woodward said. “The entire Medical Center family is heartbroken over this. We also want to express our concern and sadness and support for the AirCare team.”
AirCare, a helicopter emergency medical service, responds to emergencies around the state. AirCare is a hybrid relationship between UMMC and Med-Trans Corporation, with UMMC providing the clinical teams and Med-Trans providing the pilots and aircraft operations. This was the first crash in the 29-year history of the AirCare service.
The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the FAA and NTSB.
