The 2006 Mercy Air helicopter accident occurred on December 10, 2006, about 1755 Pacific standard time, when a Bell 412SP helicopter, call sign "Mercy Air 2," impacted mountainous terrain near Hesperia, California and the Cajon Pass. The commercial helicopter pilot and two medical crew members were killed and the helicopter was destroyed, by the impact and post impact fire.
On July 30, 2008, the National Transportation Safety Board released its probable cause report on the accident. According to the NTSB, the probable cause of the crash was "the pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain terrain clearance." The dark night conditions, fog, and mountainous terrain were ruled to be contributing factors.
Read more about 2006 Mercy Air Helicopter Accident: Accident Details
Famous quotes containing the words mercy, air and/or accident:
“Every man beholds his human condition with a degree of melancholy. As a ship aground is battered by the waves, so man, imprisoned in mortal life, lies open to the mercy of coming events.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The air was clear. He seemed in ultimate peace
Except that he had no eyes. Rigid and bright
Upon the forehead, furred
With a light frost, crouched an outrageous bird.”
—Anthony Hecht (b. 1923)
“Fortuitous circumstances constitute the moulds that shape the majority of human lives, and the hasty impress of an accident is too often regarded as the relentless decree of all ordaining fate.”
—Augusta Evans (1835–1909)