A medical helicopter crashed on Thursday night on the way to a California hospital, killing all four people on board, according to American Ambulance General Manager Todd Valeri.
The crash victims include a pilot, a nurse, a paramedic and a patient, who were on the chopper when it went down near Bakersfield after taking off from Porterville Municipal Airport. The medical crew belonged to medical transport service Skylife, which is co-owned by American Ambulance, according to NBC News.
The helicopter was en route to San Joaquin Community Hospital when it crashed in a field, according to Kern County fire officials, USA Today reported.
Officials have not yet released details about why the patient was being transported to the hospital and will release the identities of the deceased after next of kin have been notified.
Extreme weather conditions might have been a contributing factor in the crash as there was dense fog and heavy rain in the area, said Valeri. The weather also made it difficult to locate the crash site, hampering search and rescue efforts.
"These were very experienced full-time crew members," Valeri said before adding that this was the first time the company suffered such an accident since its inception in 1991.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct an investigation into the crash, according to officials, ABC News reported.
#BREAKINGNEWS 4 dead in Kern County medical helicopter crash https://t.co/Ff5s8snRjl pic.twitter.com/yjzlBlWMST
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 11, 2015
