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3 killed in medical helicopter crash in Illinois

Published: December 11, 2012 Comment on this article

ROCHELLE, Ill. (AP) — Hospital officials say a pilot and two nurses were killed when a medical helicopter crashed in a field while traveling between two northern Illinois hospitals.

photo - This Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, aerial photo taken from video provided by WLS-TV in Chicago shows the wreckage of a medical helicopter that crashed in a field near Rochelle, Ill., while traveling between two northern Illinois hospitals. The pilot and two nurses were killed in the crash. No patients were aboard when the helicopter went down Monday night about 70 miles west of Chicago. A spokesman for Rockford Memorial Hospital says its helicopter was flying to pick up a patient at a Mendota hospital. (AP Photo/Courtesy WLS-TV in Chicago)

This Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, aerial photo taken from video provided by WLS-TV in Chicago shows the wreckage of a medical helicopter that crashed in a field near Rochelle, Ill., while traveling between two northern Illinois hospitals. The pilot and two nurses were killed in the crash. No patients were aboard when the helicopter went down Monday night about 70 miles west of Chicago. A spokesman for Rockford Memorial Hospital says its helicopter was flying to pick up a patient at a Mendota hospital. (AP Photo/Courtesy WLS-TV in Chicago)

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Rockford Memorial Hospital identified those killed as pilot Andy Olesen and flight nurses Karen Hollis and Jim Dillow. In a news release Tuesday, officials at Rockford Memorial Hospital say they are grieving for "three heroes who dedicated their careers to serving others."

No patients were aboard when the helicopter went down Monday night near Rochelle, about 70 miles west of Chicago. A spokesman for the Rockford hospital says its helicopter was flying to pick up a patient at a Mendota hospital.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro says the FAA is helping the National Transportation Safety Board investigate to determine what caused the crash.