EDMONDS – The search was to continue today for the wreckage of a medical transport helicopter that crashed into Browns Bay on Thursday, killing a Whidbey Island pilot and two nurses.
Divers from the U.S. Coast Guard and Edmonds Police Department on Saturday reviewed sonar images taken of the seafloor.
Crews were focusing their search on the large debris field left by the Agusta A109/Mark II twin-engine helicopter. The Coast Guard Cutter Wahoo, assisted by two auxiliary boats, was using sonar to search for the wreckage in about 300 feet of water.
They had several hits, but could not verify whether any of them was the helicopter, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Kurt Fredrickson said. “They could have been rocks or other large objects. But there’s no verification yet,” he said.
Crews were to continue the search today. “They’ll be searching indefinitely until they find something,” Fredrickson said.
Killed in the crash were the pilot, Steve Smith, 59, of Whidbey Island, and nurses Erin Reed, 48, and Lois Suzuki, 47, both of Seattle. They were identified by Airlift Northwest, operator of the helicopter.
Search crews found the remains of one body on Friday, but they hadn’t found anything more by Saturday afternoon, said Jim Struhsaker, a senior air investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board in Seatac. The agency is investigating the cause of the crash.
Struhsaker said the agency might turn to a remote operating vehicle from Seattle later this week to get a better view of the seabed.
The helicopter crashed Thursday night after flying a critically ill 62-year-old man from a hospital in Arlington to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Weather at the time included areas of fog and mist, with gusty winds.
Airlift Northwest, based in Seattle, provides emergency air transport for patients in Alaska, western Canada, Idaho, Montana and Washington.
According to the NTSB’s accident database, Thursday’s crash was Airlift Northwest’s third helicopter accident since 1995. All three involved Agusta A109/Mark II helicopters.
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