Second Helicopter Touched Water Before Deadly Catalina Accident

The FAA is investigating a medical helicopter that reportedly contacted the water shortly after departing California’s Catalina Island Sept. 30, about a minute before a second helicopter crashed nearby, killing three people. The agency confirmed the separate investigation on Wednesday.

First Helicopter Recovered

The first helicopter, a Mercy Air aircraft operated by Air Methods, departed the Pebbly Beach helipad near Avalon at approximately 7:45 p.m. for Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. According to an internal Air Methods incident report obtained by CBS Los Angeles, the pilot noticed the aircraft had descended from approximately 150 feet to 75 feet shortly after takeoff. The pilot reported limited visibility through night-vision goggles over calm water on a moonless night before making control corrections.

“I looked back in, felt a thump and spray under chin bubble,” the pilot wrote in the internal report, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. “Obvious contact with water.”

The helicopter then continued to the mainland and was reportedly grounded after landing. Witnesses interviewed by CBS Los Angeles also described seeing the aircraft contact the ocean before recovering.

Fatal Crash Followed Moments Later

Approximately a minute after the first incident, a REACH Air Medical Services Eurocopter EC135 P2 departed the same helipad and went down into the ocean. Three of the five occupants were killed, including pilot Steven Robinson, flight nurse Jessica deVries and patient Catalina Hernandez Romero, according to an Oct. 2 statement from REACH. Two others survived the accident.

The NTSB has opened an investigation into the fatal REACH accident, while the FAA is examining the earlier Mercy Air incident. Investigators have not determined the cause of either incident or established whether the two were related.