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Patient’s Body Recovered From Catalina Island Medevac Crash

Two crewmembers were killed when the Reach Air Medical Services helicopter went down shortly after takeoff.

Meg Godlewski
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Edited By: Travis Tingle
Reach Air Medical Services helicopter [Credit: U.S. Air Force/Kenneth Abbate]
Reach Air Medical Services helicopter [Credit: U.S. Air Force/Kenneth Abbate]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A medevac helicopter crashed off Catalina Island, resulting in the deaths of the patient (Catalina Hernandez), the pilot, and the flight nurse.
  • The patient's 24-year-old son and a 49-year-old paramedic survived the crash; the paramedic sustained a broken leg.
  • Authorities recovered the patient's body from the helicopter wreckage, found 218 feet deep, following extensive search efforts.
  • The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA are investigating the cause of the accident.
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Authorities have recovered the body of the patient aboard the medevac helicopter that crashed off Catalina Island on Wednesday night.

The patient, identified as 45-year-old Catalina Hernandez, a resident of the island, was being transported to a Los Angeles-area hospital after experiencing an allergic reaction.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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