Pilot Dies in Fiery DE Crash of Med Helicopter

May 25, 2017
The pilot of a medical chopper died when it crashed in an industrial park near New Castle Airport.

May 25--Authorities in Delaware say the pilot of a medical helicopter died when the vehicle crashed Thursday in an industrial park near New Castle Airport.

WPVI reports that the chopper was a PennSTAR helicopter registered to the University of Pennsylvania.

The helicopter's fight plan had it leaving Atlantic City at 11:17 a.m., and the crash happened just before noon as it was heading to New Castle Airport.

The PennSTAR Flight program is the critical care flight and ground transportation service of Penn Medicine, according to Penn Medicine's website.

"We operate six helicopters and one critical care ambulance 24-hours a day, seven days per week, staffed by expert pilots, critical care flight nurses and flight paramedics," the website says.

A Penn Medicine spokesperson said in a statement that the helicopter was being operated by Metro Aviation, which provides services for PennSTAR, and the unidentified pilot was conducting a training flight at the time.

No patients or employees were on board, the Penn statement said, and no other injuries were reported on the ground.

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