Divers find third victim of fatal Catalina Island helicopter crash
Divers found the body of a missing patient off Catalina Island near Los Angeles, officials said Friday. The discovery brought the total death toll from the medical helicopter crash to three people. Two other people are recovering.
Divers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department found the body Thursday in the wreckage. The search covered more than 156 square miles over 23 hours, according to the Coast Guard.
The cause remains unestablished. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the fatal crash near the island. The helicopter carried five people aboard when it hit the ocean water.
First responders pulled four people from the ocean water on Wednesday night. Emergency crews responded to the island location shortly before 8 p.m. that evening.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said officials were not yet naming the victims. Luna described the two dead victims as a male pilot and a female nurse. He said another medic and a male passenger were hospitalized with injuries.
Sheriff Luna said the wreckage was about 200 feet deep in the water. Relatives told ABC7 the patient was flying to the mainland for allergic reaction care. Her 20-year-old son accompanied her on the flight to help translate for medics.
The aircraft operator, REACH Air Medical Services of Sacramento, confirmed two crew members died. The company stated a third crew member was recovering in a regional hospital.
The company declined to provide more details regarding the injured crew members. “In the days ahead, our focus will remain on caring for our people, supporting their families and honoring the lives and service of those we have lost,” REACH said in a statement.
Community members held a memorial service on Catalina Island to honor the victims. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn praised the medical crew for their service.
“The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes,” Hahn said in a social media post.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said two people died at the crash scene. Emergency crews transported two surviving passengers in stable condition to mainland hospitals.
The helicopter landed on the island following a flight from an Oceanside airport. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported the flight lasted 24 minutes before landing.
The incident followed two other fatal California aviation accidents in recent weeks. A firefighting helicopter crash killed two pilots in Yosemite National Park 11 days earlier. Another helicopter crash killed two people in Los Angeles two weeks before this crash.
Federal investigators examine airframe components and maintenance logs during a fatal transportation inquiry. The safety board reviews mechanical data to understand factors involved in aircraft accidents. Specialized recovery teams transport damaged wreckage to secure sites for detailed technical examination.
The safety board identified the crashed aircraft model as a Eurocopter EC-135-P2. A board spokesperson said workers will move the helicopter to a Los Angeles facility.
