CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday identified the two health-care workers and a pilot who all died in the crash of a medical helicopter in a wooded area of Mississippi.
Killed in Monday’s crash were crew members Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo, Mississippi, and Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said in a statement.
The pilot, Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville, Mississippi, also died. Wesolowski worked for the Med-Trans Corp., which partners with health care systems and agencies to provide medical flights.
The helicopter was returning to its base in Columbus, Mississippi, from a patient transport when it crashed in Madison County around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s vice chancellor for health affairs, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, said at a news conference.
“The entire Medical Center family is heartbroken over this,” Woodward said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and other authorities are investigating.
The original March 10, 2025, story is below:
MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (AP) — A medical transport helicopter crashed in Mississippi on Monday, killing a pilot and two hospital workers on board, officials said.
A spokesperson for the University of Mississippi Medical Center confirmed the deaths of everyone on board the flight. The AirCare copter was not carrying any patients when it crashed in Madison County, north of the capital of Jackson, the university said in an earlier statement.
Families of the three victims were notified, but authorities didn’t release names to protect privacy. The university did not offer a reason for the crash.
“Earlier this afternoon, AirCare 3, our Columbus-based medical transport helicopter, had an accident in rural Madison County, north of the Reservoir. Sadly, there were no survivors,” UMMC said in a statement. “Two UMMC employee crew members and a pilot from Med-Trans, the company that owns and operates the helicopter, were on board—no patients.”
Television station WAPT reported that authorities from the Federal Aviation Administration were en route. UMMC said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
“It’s a tragic reminder of the risks Mississippi’s first responders take every day to keep us safe,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on Facebook. “Our state will never forget the sacrifice of these heroes.”
