CANTON, Miss. — On Tuesday, officials revealed the identities of the three individuals who tragically lost their lives in the crash of a medical helicopter in a forested region of Mississippi.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center identified the victims as crew members Jakob Kindt, 37, from Tupelo, Mississippi, and Dustin Pope, 35, from Philadelphia, Mississippi. The pilot was identified as Cal Wesolowski, 62, from Starkville, Mississippi. He was an employee of Med-Trans Corp., an organization that collaborates with healthcare systems and agencies to provide medical flights.
The accident occurred as the helicopter was returning to its base in Columbus, Mississippi, after transporting a patient. It crashed in Madison County at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday, according to Dr. LouAnn Woodward, the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s vice chancellor for health affairs, during a news conference.
“The whole Medical Center community is devastated by this incident,” Dr. Woodward expressed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, along with other authorities, has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
