UPDATE: Three flight crew members dead after medical helicopter crash in northern Wisconsin
Updated: 11:42 a.m. April 27, 2018
TOWN OF HAZELHURST, Wis. (AP) -- Authorities in northern Wisconsin say the three people killed in the crash of a medical helicopter were flight crew members.
Oneida County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Hess says the wreckage was found early Friday. He says no patients were on board the Ascension Health Spirit helicopter when it crashed in Hazelhurst, a small town about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Green Bay.
A search was launched after the chopper was reported missing late Thursday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the helicopter left Madison and was on its way to Woodruff when it crashed about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of its destination. The FAA is sending a team to help with an investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
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Updated: 10:10 a.m. April 27, 2018
TOWN OF HAZELHURST, Wis. (AP) -- Authorities say three people are dead after a medical helicopter crashed in northern Wisconsin.
The Oneida County Sheriff's Office confirmed the three fatalities on Friday. Chief Deputy Dan Hess said the crash involved an Ascension Wisconsin Spirit helicopter, but he said he doesn't know if the three victims were all Ascension employees.
Hess says search and rescue crews reached the crash scene Friday. The helicopter was reported missing late Thursday night, and a search was launched. Crews say the helicopter was found in Hazelhurst, a small town about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Green Bay.
A witness who drove search crews to the scene on an amphibious all-terrain vehicle says the chopper went down in a heavily wooded area with high ridges and some swamps.
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Updated: 8:10 a.m. on April 27, 2018
TOWN OF HAZELHURST, Wis. (AP) -- Emergency responders have found a missing medical helicopter in northern Wisconsin, but no word yet about the people on board.
The last contact with the helicopter was Thursday night. The Oneida County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the helicopter was later located in Hazelhurst, a small town about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Green Bay.
The agency released no details about the accident, including how many people were on board or their conditions, but did note that one of the agencies responding was the local coroner.
The sheriff's office referred questions from The Associated Press to Ascension Health, which didn't immediately respond to calls and emails Friday morning.
Authorities say the last known contact with the helicopter was at 10:55 p.m. Thursday. Dispatchers received a call that the chopper was missing 25 minutes later. At least eight agencies were involved in the search.
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Posted: 7:38 a.m. on April 27, 2018
HAZELHURST, Wis. (WSAW) -- A Spirit air ambulance helicopter has crashed in Oneida County.
According to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, the helicopter’s last known contact was at approximately 10:55 p.m. Thursday night. The Oneida County Dispatch Center received a call that the helicopter was missing at 11:22 p.m.
Emergency responders searched the last known area and located the helicopter in the Town of Hazelhurst.
Investigators said the helicopter was enroute to an Ascension hospital.
Details of the accident and condition of the occupants are not being release at this time.