(L-R) Dustin Pope, Jakob Kindt, and Cal Wesolowski were killed in the helicopter crash. Credit: Facebook/UMMC

The three men were traveling in an AirCare Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter when it went down in a heavily wooded area south of the Natchez Trace Parkway and north of Pipeline Road in Madison County, north of the capital Jackson, at approximately 1:15PM on Monday, March 10, per the FAA.

They have been named by the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) as Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi; Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo, Mississippi; and Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville, Mississippi.

On Tuesday, WJTV News 12 also confirmed that Wesolowski was a Med-Trans pilot, Pope was a flight nurse and the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus, while Kindt was a critical care paramedic.

The outlet cited officials who stated that Pope and Kindt had been working with UMMC since August 2017.

UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, said during a press conference: “The entire Medical Center family is heartbroken over this.”

She also confirmed that no patients had been onboard the helicopter at the time of the tragic incident, and the crew had been on their way back to Columbus after having transported a patient at the time of the deadly crash.

NTSB spokesman Todd Imman said during a press conference, per WAPT: “At one point during the flight, they ceased communications with air traffic control and communicated with base.”

Before the AirCare helicopter lost control, Wesolowski had told control that they were having issues and were planning to attempt to land in a nearby field according to Imman.

Shortly afterward, 911 calls were made by witnesses who’d seen the helicopter crash and burst into flames.

Imman revealed that it took between two and three hours to extinguish the fire after the helicopter crashed in a remote and muddy area.

He added during the press conference: “We just finished our initial site visit. We were able to observe tree scratch marks that would be consistent with a rotor strike.”

The fatal crash is the first in the 29-year history of the AirCare emergency services, according to CBS News, which cited a statement from the university.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wrote Facebook: “It’s a tragic reminder of the risks Mississippi’s first responders take every day to keep us safe. Our state will never forget the sacrifice of these heroes.”

An investigation has been launched into the deadly crash by the FAA [Federal Aviation Authority] and the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], with an initial report expected to be available within 30 days and the full report within 12-24 months,

It’s the latest tragic crash within the US following a spate of air incidents this year so far.

The year began with a tragic plane crash in Washington D.C. on January 29, when a commercial jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew collided with a US Military Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board.

The plane had been coming in to land at Reagan Airport when it was struck by the helicopter, which was on a training mission, sending both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River, killing everyone on board.

Wreckage being recovered from the Potomac River. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

Just days later, a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia while on its way to Mexico, killing all six on board and one person on the ground below.

A small plane carrying 10 people also crashed in Alaska this year, killing everyone on board, and two people died in February after two planes collided in midair at Arizona’s Marana Airport.

On Sunday (March 9), a small aircraft crashed in a neighborhood in Pennsylvania, landing on a row of parked cars and bursting into flames. All of the five on board were taken to local hospitals and their condition is unknown.

Last month, a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Toronto also flipped as it landed and burst into flames, though miraculously all on board made it out alive.