Airlift Northwest, which provides air medical transport, was founded in 1982 and became a nonprofit organization in 2002.
It operates helicopters out of Arlington, Bellingham, Puyallup and Seattle, and fixed-wing aircraft out Alaska, Seattle and Wenatchee.
Each flight team consists of two registered nurses with training in pediatrics, obstetrics, trauma and critical care. In 2004, there were more than 4,500 Airlift Northwest flights.
A pilot and two nurses were killed Sept. 11, 1995, when their helicopter crashed in Puget Sound near Winslow Harbor.
A federal investigation found the pilot had failed to maintain sufficient altitude above the water.
Investigators are still looking into the cause of Thursday night’s Airlift Northwest crash in the waters off Edmonds.
Airlifts flights out of Arlington Municipal Airport have been temporarily suspended.
Information provided by Airlift Northwest and the Associated Press.
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