3 injured after ARCH Medical helicopter crashes in Hartford, Illinois

HARTFORD, Ill. (First Alert 4) - Three crew members were injured and taken to the hospital after an ARCH Medical helicopter crashed in Hartford Thursday night. Tom Hood lives nearby and saw the helicopter crash as it was beginning to take off.

“It hit that back tree and kind of did a turn and down it went.

The crash happened at the corner of North Delmar and Date Street in Hartford, Illinois around 9 p.m. According to the Hartford Fire Department, the helicopter was taking part in training with the fire department and crashed during departure.

A pilot and two crew members were transported to area hospitals and were later reported to be in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. On Tuesday, two of three injured crew members had been discharged from the hospital. The one person who remained in the hospital was listed as stable and progressing.

Those living nearby said they heard and felt the crash.

“When it thumped, I felt a little bit of a shake. I knew there was a loud sound and i knew there was trouble,” said Keith Hall.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived at the scene on Friday and were seen taking measurements. An NTSB spokesperson said a preliminary report on the crash would be available after 30 days.

In previous years the fire department had conducted its joint training with an ARCH air ambulance crew at 7th Street Park in Hartford. Many were questioning why the helicopter would land in a vacant lot with trees and power lines nearby and little room for error.

“It just didn’t make sense why a big old helicopter would land in that little bitty spot,” said Darla Flanders, who works near the crash scene.

Friday morning, the owner of the helicopter, Air Methods, released the following statement:

“This evening, at approximately 9 p.m. Central Time, the ARCH 1 crew from Granite City, IL, was involved in an incident as they were departing from a local fire station. All three crew members on board have been transported to local hospitals for evaluation. We continue to support our teammates and are working with the authorities in support of the investigation.”