WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Vanderbilt University Medical Center has confirmed that one crew member was killed and two others were seriously injured after a LifeFlight helicopter crashed Saturday afternoon in Wilson County.
The helicopter, LifeFlight 1, went down in an unpopulated area near the 7100 block of Cairo Bend Road around 2 p.m. Officials said the aircraft had taken off from the Wilson County Emergency Operations Center at 1:33 p.m. and was not carrying a patient at the time.
In a statement, Vanderbilt Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer Dr. Jane Freedman said Flight Nurse/Paramedic Allan Williams did not survive. Critical Care Flight Paramedic Andrew “Andy” Sikes and the pilot, whose family requested privacy, were seriously injured and remain hospitalized.
“For 41 years, through more than 80,000 flights and 40,000 ground transports, the remarkable members of the Vanderbilt LifeFlight team have saved countless lives,” Dr. Freedman said. “Despite the inherent risk of this work, these dedicated individuals feel called to serve patients in their most vulnerable moments.”
Dr. Freedman asked the community to “join me in support of [Allan’s] family, as well as Andy, the pilot, and their families” as the organization grieves this loss.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
