Tragic News

Please keep the families of these three people in your thoughts and prayers.




3 Die In Hospital Helicopter Crash

MADISON, Wis. -- Three people died when a University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter crashed after taking off Saturday night from La Crosse, a hospital spokesman said Sunday.

A surgeon, a nurse and the pilot were killed in the crash, which took place as the helicopter was returning to Madison from the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, said UW Hospital spokesman Aaron Conklin.

Allan Tiedt, of the La Crosse County Emergency Dispatch Center, said the wreckage was found in the town of Onalaska.

Killed in the crash were surgeon Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer, said UW Hospital chief operating officer Margaret Van Bree.

The helicopter left Madison at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday night to drop off a patient at the La Crosse hospital and departed the airport there at about 10:30 p.m., Van Bree said.

"No further communication was received from the crew," she said.

Rain and fog kept the torn wreckage of the Med-Flight helicopter hidden from search crews until daylight, more than nine hours after the crash. The helicopter was finally found about four miles from the airport at about 8:40 a.m. Sunday, Van Bree said.

Madison rescuers said they were shaken by the news.

"I was just sick," said Jim Kieken, with the Madison Fire Department. "It was just a horrendous thing and you were hoping that the information was incorrect or there was some explanation on what had happened, and in a short period of time you would find out that he was safe, and it's just devastating that it isn't."

"I think we're all just in shock, disbelief right now," said Todd Cole, a Madison Area Technical College Paramedic Instructor who taught with Coyne.

The medical community was also stunned.

"Darren, Mark and Steve represent the very best in compassionate patient care, and they will be deeply missed, said Margaret Van Bree, Chief Operating Officer of University of Wisconsin Hospitals.

The aircraft was an American Eurocopter EC13 leased from Air Methods within the past year, she said.

Preliminary reports indicate the helicopter may have struck a hill or some trees, but the exact cause is not yet known, Van Bree said.

Investigators are looking at all possible causes, including the weather. Hospital officials in Madison, however, pointed out that another medical helicopter from La Crosse was flying in that vicinity at the same time and the thick fog that hampered the search efforts didn't roll into until after the crash.

There were no witnesses to the crash, but residents nearby said they heard it, but thought it was thunder or a car accident.

"This ATV drove in the yard and we asked him what he was doing and he said a helicopter went down somewhere," said Randy Viner, a nearby property owner. "So I said 'let's go up to the woods and look,' and we came down this trail and the helicopter was right here on this trail here."

He said a small plane crashed near that same spot about 30 years ago, when it got caught up in some wires.

Gov. Jim Doyle honored the passengers, saying they were the ones people looked to in times of crisis.

"In our moments of greatest peril, our lives depend on the courageous work of med flight personnel," said Doyle. "We owe the crew tremendous gratitude for their extraordinary service and dedication."

There is one other Med Flight helicopter that serves the university hospital system, and it has been grounded, Conklin said.