Local News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ― Officials on Monday were investigating the crash of a University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter in which a surgeon, nurse and pilot were killed.

UW Hospital chief operating officer Margaret Van Bree said it appeared the craft struck a hill or trees shortly after dropping off a patient Saturday night at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in the western Wisconsin city of La Crosse.

There were no survivors.

The crash occurred at 10:48 p.m. Saturday about three miles from La Crosse, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with the FAA assisting, but it may take several weeks to more than a year to complete, Cory said.

Kristy Welch of the NTSB office in Chicago said Monday an investigator for the agency was at the crash scene.

There were no concerns about the weather before the helicopter took off, but rain and deteriorating conditions into the night caused the search to be conducted on the ground only, said Mark Hanson, Med Flight director.

No one saw the copter go down, Hanson said.

Killed were surgeon Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer. All three were working their scheduled shifts, Hanson said.

No details were released about the patient or the circumstances necessitating the flight.

The helicopter left Madison around 8:30 p.m. Saturday and left the La Crosse airport at about 10:30 p.m., Van Bree said.

"No further communication was received from the crew," she said.

The search began around 11 p.m. and the craft was found more than nine hours later, Hanson said.

The pilot was flying visually, not using instruments, at the time of the crash, Hanson said. He said he did not know why the pilot was not using his instruments.

It is "very common and acceptable" for pilots to use a visual flight plan, said Mike Allen, senior vice president of hospital-based medical services for Denver-based Air Methods, which leases the aircraft to the hospital.

Neither Allen nor Hanson knew how familiar Lipperer was with flying in the La Crosse area.

The aircraft was a new American Eurocopter EC13 leased beginning in August, Hanson said.

Air Methods has about 300 helicopters in service in 42 states, Allen said. The last time an Air Methods helicopter crashed resulting in a death was in December 2006 when a pilot and two crew members were killed in a crash north of Los Angeles.

There were no reported mechanical problems with this particular aircraft or its model, Allen said. There are more than 600 helicopters of that model in operation, he said.

Hanson said the hospital's two helicopters undergo "rigorous maintenance" and are checked daily.

The two helicopters, along with 21 other Air Methods helicopters, were grounded for a week in April after the Denver FAA office questioning how paperwork certifying add-on equipment on some aircraft had been handled by other FAA offices, Allen said. The grounding did not involve any mechanical concerns, he said.

The university system's other Med Flight helicopter, also leased from Air Methods starting in October, has been grounded pending the investigation into the crash. If air service is needed while the helicopters are grounded other helicopters being used by other hospitals may be used, Hanson said.

The university hospital system has had an air flight program since 1985. There are 22 nurses and 10 doctors who work for the air flight system. On average there are about three or four flights a day, Hanson said. The average distance flown to pick up a patient is about 55 miles, he said.

This was the first crash.

"In our moments of greatest peril, our lives depend on the courageous work of Med Flight personnel," Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. "Dr. Darren Bean, Mark Coyne and Steve Lipperer dedicated themselves to rescuing people who faced the longest odds, and we owe them tremendous gratitude for their extraordinary service and dedication."

Bean became a Med Flight physician for the hospital system in 2002 after completing residency training at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. He received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1999.

Bean also was the emergency department director of ultrasound, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, a member of the hospital's multidisciplinary trauma committee and an executive board member of the Regional Trauma Advisory Committee. He was married to Dr. Stacey Bean, an emergency physician at St. Mary's Hospital. The couple has two young children.

Coyne, 53, of Waunakee, was a 22-year veteran of the Med Flight system and had worked for the hospital since 1981. He also was an emergency medical technician-paramedic. He leaves behind a wife, Anne.

Lipperer, 39, of Waunakee, worked for Air Methods and was a contract employee for the hospital system since 2000. He was married to Dr. Desiree La Charite, a Med Flight doctor. The couple had no children, said a family friend, Heather Grant. His father, Raymond Lipperer of Johnson Creek, said his son had always wanted to fly.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he knew personally knew Bean, who was director of the Madison EMT program and was currently working to teach people how to revive heart attack victims.

"He was literally in the business of saving lives every day of his life," Cieslewicz said. "It is a tragedy for the community."

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