Coast Guard Searches for Missing Person After Medevac Helicopter Crash Kills 2

Four people are recovered from the water off California’s Catalina Island.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, October 01, 2026 at 01:08 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Reach Air Medical Services helicopter [Credit: U.S. Air Force/Kenneth Abbate]

Key Takeaways:

A medevac helicopter carrying five people crashed shortly after takeoff from Catalina Island, California, with the U.S. Coast Guard searching for one unaccounted person.
Of the four individuals recovered from the water, two were pronounced deceased, and two were transferred to a mainland hospital.
The crashed aircraft, a Eurocopter EC 135P2+ owned by Reach Air Medical Services, experienced a rapid descent shortly after takeoff, with most of its flight occurring under darkness.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for one person unaccounted for after a medevac helicopter carrying five people crashed shortly after takeoff from California’s Catalina Island on Wednesday night.

“Four individuals were recovered from the water,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “Two of the individuals were transferred to a hospital on the mainland and two were pronounced deceased.”