Sauk Valley Newspapers | Wreckage being sent to Kansas for forensic exams

Created:�Thursday, December 13, 2012 1:15 a.m.�CDT

Wreckage being sent to Kansas for forensic exams

By Chicago Tribune

Investigators photograph and document the scene of a medical helicopter crash Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, near Compton. All three aboard the Rockford Memorial REACT chopper – the pilot and two flight nurses – were killed in the crash around 8:30 p.m. Monday. The National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

ROCHELLE (AP) – Federal investigators are moving the wreckage of a deadly medical helicopter crash in Lee County to Kansas for forensic examinations, the Chicago Tribune reports.

National Transportation Safety Board chief investigator Arnold Scott said Wednesday that he also plans to speak to more witnesses.

The Monday night crash in Compton left the pilot and two nurses dead. The pilot had radioed about bad weather on the way to Mendota to pick up a patient and said he would turn back to Rockford.

Federal investigators will look at weather conditions, the pilot’s flight history and medical records, dispatch communications and the helicopter’s maintenance records, said Scott, adding that he documented the crash site and has examined the wreckage.

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