December end stood witness to a tragic air ambulance crash that took away the lives of all four people on board. The unfortunate crew members were two flight nurses and two pilots. Local residents who witnessed the air ambulance crash say that the visibility was very poor due to the weather conditions that day. It had been raining and there was quite a bit of fog.
The air ambulance had taken down several power cables and also damaged a house as it crashed. The condition of the aircraft was such that eyewitnesses described it as a ball of fire. The situation was so bad that even people who were seeing it first-hand could not offer help. It simply seemed like a hopeless situation. The incident occurred in El Cajon, which is a suburb of San Diego.
Bad Weather Conditions Behind Several Air Ambulance Tragedies
This is not the first time that an air ambulance has crashed due to adverse weather conditions. Every year in the United States, we see air ambulances going down and crew members losing lives due to crashes. Poor visibility is often cited as the primary cause of the crash. Although there are several regulations that guide when medical flights can and cannot take off, such mishaps continue to occur. This, despite, the latest safety equipment mandated by the Federal Aviation Authority.
The Crew was Quite Popular in the Area
Among the nurses who lost their lives was Tina Ward. She was married to Joe Ward who was the deputy chief of Ocean Side Fire Department. He had recently retired. The other nurse was Lurie Gentz. She was previously the president of the union for the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics.
Early reports revealed that the pilots had changed the landing arrangements at the last moment, possibly due to the weather. As always, an investigation is expected to soon begin.
