Officials have confirmed the identities of the three individuals who passed away in a medical helicopter crash in Madison County on Monday.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center reports that Dustin Pope, 35, Jakob Kindt, 37, and Cal Wesolowski, 62, lost their lives in the tragic accident in a wooded near Highway 43 and the Natchez Trace Parkway. Pope, a Philadelphia native, and Kindt, of Tupelo, were operating as medical staff while Wesolowski, of Starkville, was piloting the helicopter.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of the crew of AirCare 3 during yesterday’s crash in Madison County,” a release from UMMC reads. “UMMC will continue to provide support for the families of the fallen, our AirCare and Mississippi Center for Emergency Services teams, and the countless others who worked with them in any way we can.”
The chopper, which was leased to UMMC by Texas-based Med Trans, was en route back to Columbus after the crew hauled a patient to Jackson for treatment. Less than 15 minutes after departing UMMC’s main campus in the state’s capital city, the helicopter crashed, leaving no survivors.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the fatal incident.
