Yampa Valley Air Ambulance - Fatal accident

DATE	
	January 11, 2005 Abt. 2140 MST

PROGRAM	
	Yampa Valley Air Ambulance

VENDOR	
	Mountain Flight Service

ADDRESS	
	1024 Central Park Drive
	Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

WEATHER	
	Night time, snowing.

AIRCRAFT_TYPE	
	King Air E90

TAIL#	
	41WE

INJURIES	
	Tim Benway, age 35, Pilot - fatal
	Dave Linner, age 36, Flight Nurse, Program Director - fatal
	Jennifer Wells, age 30, Flight Nurse - fatal
	Tim Baldwin, age 35, Flight Paramedic - injured
	

DESCRIPTION	
	On the evening of January 11, Yampa Valley Air Ambulance (YVAA) was
	requested to fly the victim of a motor vehicle crash from Rawlins to
	Casper, Wyoming, for further care.  The planned ETA was 2140.  By
	2200, when no word of a safe landing had been received, aircraft
	overdue procedures were initiated.  Minutes later, a cell phone call
	was received in the St. Anthony Communication Center, YVAA's dispatch
	service, from the flight paramedic, Tim Baldwin, notifying that they
	had crashed.
	
	Despite his injuries and entrapment in the wreckage, Tim was able to
	help guide rescuers to the scene of the crash by listening for the
	sounds of their sirens.  Unfortunately,communication with him was
	lost after about ninety minutes.  
	
	The crash site was finally located at about 0230, almost five hours
	after the crash, using handheld receivers homing in on the ELT
	signal.  The site was in a remote area and required considerable
	efforts to reach.
	
	Tim Benway, Dave Linner, and Jennifer Wells were found already
	deceased.  Tim Baldwin, however, was still alive.  After being
	extricated, he was transported to the hospital in Rawlins for
	stabilization. He was later transported to Poudre Valley Hospital in
	Ft. Collins, Colorado, for further care. He is expected to make a
	full recovery.
	
	The cause of the crash is under investigation.
	
	
	

ADDITIONAL INFO	
	There will be a Memorial Service for the public tonight, Friday,
	January 14th, at 6pm, at Bob Adams Field (Steamboat Springs Airport).
	The service will be held in a heated hangar.
	
	There will be a Memorial Service next Wednesday January 19th at
	2:30pm for ALL air medical crews and YVMC employees at Yampa Valley
	Medical Center (unknown conference room at this time). This service
	is not open to the public.
	
	The funeral for Dave Linner will be held at the Concordia Lutheran
	Church at 755 Concordia Lane in Steamboat Springs. Visitation is on
	Sunday evening and the funeral is Monday at 11:00.
	
	Services for Jennifer Wells are Monday, January 17th at 10:00am at
	the St. Charles Catholic Church in Stratton, Colorado.
	
	A memorial service for Tim Benway will be held Saturday, January 22nd
	at 10:30am at the Vail Interfaith Chapel in Vail, Colorado. More
	information will follow on this service.
	
	Funds have been established through the Healthcare Foundation for the
	Yampa Valley for the victims involved. If you would like to make a
	donation please contact the Healthcare Foundation at 970-871-0700. 
	
	

SOURCE	
	Jamie Neault, YVAA Safety Officer

VIA	
	David Kearns, CONCERN Coordinator
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The CONCERN network shares verified information to alert medical
transport programs when an accident / incident has occurred.
Please share the above information with your program staff. If
you have further questions, please contact the CONCERN Coordinator,
David Kearns at 800 525 3712 or email: coordinator@concern-network.org.