Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
By all accounts, Life Flight helicopter pilot Brent Cowley was a hero!
Based on what’s known of the fatal crash last Saturday evening that took his life, his quick, precise and instinctive reaction to what appears to have been a major mechanical failure saved the lives of his two passengers.
Of course, saving lives is what aeromedical pilots and personnel do. Most often, their heroic deeds go unnoticed by the masses . . . until tragedy strikes as it did last weekend.
Despite this most recent accident, and another earlier this year that took the life of a pilot and paramedic, IHC’s Life Flight and the University Hospital’s AirMed have impressive safety records. Between them, they fly more than 5,000 missions each year. Mostly, they transport patients with critical medical needs.
In a quarter-century of service, think of the suffering they have mitigated and the lives they’ve saved!
To their credit, members of both aeromedical teams seem determined to continue their compassionate work, even as the precise cause of last weekend’s crash is investigated. To them, we say "thank you" for a willingness to take occasional risks to provide medical expertise in times of need. And with them, KSL joins the community at large in mourning the death of their colleague, Brent Cowley.
