(Mason City)– Authorities have identified two of three people killed when a medical helicopter crashed into a northern Iowa field.
Witnesses told deputies that the helicopter burst into flames when it went down around 9 p.m. Wednesday just north of Ventura in Cerro Gordo county. The aircraft was affiliated with Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa and had been headed to Emmetsburg to pickup a patient.
The hospital identified two of the victims: nurse Shelly Lair-Langenbeau and paramedic Russell Piehl.
The pilot wasn’t identified. The helicopter was operated by a Lewisville, Texas-based service company, Med-Trans Air Medical Transport. Company officials didn’t immediately return messages left by the A-P.
Sheriff Kevin Pals says the crash cause is being investigated.
(From the Associated Press.)
