Two people were killed when a Mercy Flight crashed in the Genesee County town of Elba around 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to State Police.
The helicopter had taken off from the Batavia airport, a few miles away, shortly before the crash occurred, near Norton and Edgerton Roads. It was beginning an annual Bell Helicopter factory training flight when the crash occurred. No patients were on board.
Mercy Flight said Pilot James Sauer, 60, of Churchville and Bell Helicopter flight instructor Stewart Dietrick, 60, of Prosper, TX perished in the accident.
"Mr. Sauer, a retired NYS Police Pilot, began working with Mercy Flight in October 2020," Mercy Flight said via Twitter.
According to an article on the National Guard website, Sauer completed 40 years as an army aviator in 2020. The article said he was "a veteran of the Afghanistan War with additional deployments to Somalia, the Horn of Africa and Latin and South America."
“It goes without saying that our attention needs to be focused on the families of those lost and on our own employees as we deal with this unspeakable tragedy," said Mercy Flight President Margaret Ferrentino. "This is a very dark day for the Mercy Flight family. We are so grateful for the expressions of love, concern and support expressed by many.”
Mercy Flight Executive Vice President Scott Wooton said Mercy Flight has temporarily suspended operations to allow time for employees to process the event and ensure the safe mechanical operation of other helicopters.
"The Mercy Flight Communications Center will remain operational and will refer any requests to other area resources who are standing by to assist,” Wooton said.
State Police are working with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, Bell Helicopter and Underwriter Accident Investigation in their continuing investigation.
WXXI's Randy Gorbman contributed to this story.
