Plane Crash: Hope and Celebration Ends in Tragedy

Flagstaff, AZA plane crash is, in itself, a nightmare. However, that nightmare is all the more tragic when circumstances dictate that an occasion meant to be celebrated, or is cause for hope, turns immediately into grief and despair.

Such is the case with a small plane crash June 28th that took the lives of two couples celebrating their respective wedding anniversaries, and the mid-air collision days ago of two medical helicopters carrying patients who never made it to hospital.

The latter represents a "disturbing trend," according to Mark Rosenker, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. It has been reported that there have been nine serious accidents involving emergency medical aircraft (medivac) this year alone, and six have involved helicopters.

The mid-air collision June 29th killed six people including both pilots, a paramedic, a flight nurse, and both patients. Another flight nurse, and the only survivor of the crash, was rushed to hospital in serious condition. Other emergency workers were injured on the ground when one of the helicopters exploded after impact. Witnesses at the scene suggest that the wreckage is so mangled, it is near impossible to recognize the fuselage as helicopters.

The medivacs, both Bell 407 helicopters, were coming into Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC), which is about 130 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. FMC is not equipped with flight controllers, and therefore relies on pilots to watch for other aircraft within the vicinity.

While the investigation is continuing, it is known that one of the helicopters was operated by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah and was airlifting a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon. The other, operated by Air Methods of Englewood, Colorado, was reportedly flown by a veteran pilot and was enroute from Winslow.

The victims from the Classic helicopter were identified as pilot Tom Caldwell, 54, paramedic Tom Clausing, 36, and the Grand Canyon patient, Michael McDonald, 26. Flight nurse James Taylor, 36, was in critical condition at Flagstaff Medical Center.
On the other helicopter, the victims were identified as pilot Pat Graham, 50, flight nurse Shawn Shreeve, 36, and patient Raymond Zest, 54.

While it is rare for two medivacs to attempt to land at a medical facility at the same time, the possibility exists nonetheless. The collision occurred near a residential area, raining debris down near homes within close proximity to the medical center.

Meanwhile, a plane crash the day before in Nevada clamed the lives of four people returning from Las Vegas to celebrate their wedding anniversaries. The pilot, Erik Nunn, was Chair of the Oakley Planning Commission and an ordained minister. The small, single-engine plane he was piloting went down and tangled with power lines before crashing hard into a hillside and bursting into flames about 20 miles from the outskirts of Los Vegas. The fireball touched off a brush fire before authorities could get to the wreckage.

The victims were identified as Craig Wilson, 36, and Michele Wilson, 37, Erik Nunn, 37, and Tanya Nunn, 26. Tanya Nunn was a realtor with Coldwell Banker Amaral and Associates in Brentwood, while Wilson was a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer and his wife Michele was a flight attendant for United Airlines.

Erik and Tanya Nunn left behind four children, and the Wilson's left three.

It is not known why the plane went down, and the investigation continues. What is known, however, and what is painfully obvious is that 10 lives were tragically lost in these two air accidents. The focus now will be to determine if those lives were lost needlessly.