UPDATED: 9:30 AM 4-27 to add victims’ names.
Two people were killed during a Mercy Flight training mission Monday afternoon.
According to New York State Police spokesman Eugene Staniszewski a marked Mercy Flight helicopter took off from Batavia Airport in Genesee County, and around 1 in the afternoon, the helicopter crashed off Norton Road in the town of Elba.
Killed in the crash were a retired New York State Police civilian pilot, 60-year-old James E. Sauer of Churchville, NY, and a Bell Helicopter employee/pilot, 60-year-old Stewart M. Dietrick of Prosper, TX.
No one on the ground was injured.
At this time, it’s uncertain what caused the crash. The New York State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently investigating the crash.
This is a developing story.