The US Coast Guard has deployed assets in response to a helicopter crash that left two people dead off the California coast on the night (local time) of Wednesday, September 30.
A medical evacuation helicopter carrying five people went down soon after departing Pebbly Beach on Catalina Island. The pilot and one other occupant are confirmed dead while two survivors were taken to hospitals on the mainland and are reportedly in stable condition.
One other person who was aboard the helicopter remained missing as of Thursday, October 1.
The coast guard has expanded its search to include an examination of the wreckage with the aid of a remotely operated vehicle. The wreck lies in about 73 metres of water.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said recovery work was being handled by other parties.
“After recovery, the aircraft will be transported to a secure facility for further evaluation,” an NTSB spokesperson told local news outlet KTLA.
Investigators will document the site and examine the aircraft once recovery efforts were complete.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders received notice from Baywatch Avalon at about 19:50 on Wednesday that a medical helicopter had crashed offshore from Pebbly Beach. The aircraft had been bound for the mainland.
The coast guard diverted an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Air Station Ventura and coordinated the launch of a response boat-medium from Station Los Angeles-Long Beach.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department coordinated Baywatch Avalon, Baywatch Cabrillo and Baywatch Isthmus crews, along with multiple air assets. Lifeguards and the sheriff’s department also responded to the crash.
The missing occupant was the patient being evacuated, a coast guard official told the LA Times. To estimate where the person might drift, responders used software while searching an area spanning several square miles.
Currents were moving the debris field and were stronger than expected, the newspaper reported.
Los Angeles County Fire had earlier sent an underwater drone to search for the helicopter, with divers to be sent once the aircraft was found.
Flight tracking data cited by the LA Times indicated that around eight seconds into the flight, the helicopter had climbed to about 175 feet (53 metres) above sea level and then descended rapidly.
NTSB investigators reached the site at roughly 11:30 on Thursday.
The agency identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC 135 P2 and said the investigation was at an early stage.