NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on California Helicopter Crash

Agency says uncommanded loss of power was reported just before the accident that fatally injured a flight nurse.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, November 06, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

An ambulance helicopter crashed on October 6 near Sacramento, California, after losing power for an unknown reason, according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. [Credit: California Department of Transportation District 8]

Key Takeaways:

An Airbus medical helicopter crashed near Sacramento in October after experiencing an uncommanded loss of power shortly after takeoff.
The NTSB preliminary report indicates the helicopter reached about 500 feet before an 11-second descent resulted in a hard landing on U.S. Route 50.
One flight nurse critically injured in the crash later died, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage.

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An uncommanded loss of power was reported just before an Airbus medical helicopter crashed near Sacramento, California, in October.

According to the preliminary report released this week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), at approximately 7:09 p.m. PT on October 6, the ambulance helicopter lifted off from UC Davis Medical Center Tower II Heliport (3CLO), heading to Sacramento McClellan Airport (KMCC), approximately 25 miles away. The weather was VFR at the time.