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While Med Flight is down, helicopter services from Milwaukee and Neenah, Wis., and Rockford, Ill., have been transporting patients for UW Hospital, said Med Flight director Mark Hanson.
It’s not clear when Med Flight operations will resume, Hanson said.
“We’ll return to service when we think the time is right, when we’re emotionally ready,” he said. “We’ve lost three brothers. ... It’s very hard.”
Killed in the crash were Dr. Darren Bean, 37; nurse Mark Coyne, 53; and pilot Steve Lipperer, 39.
Their Med Flight helicopter went down about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the town of Medary after they left the La Crosse airport to return to Madison. They earlier had delivered a patient from Prairie du Chien to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center and stopped at the airport to refuel.
Pilot Lipperer had flown in and out of La Crosse before and was familiar with the terrain, UW Hospital spokesman Aaron Conklin said.
Lipperer operated the aircraft visually Saturday night — rather than by instruments — as is frequently done, in the dark and even in mountains, when weather conditions allow, said Mike Allen, a senior vice president at Denver-based Air Methods, which leases the two helicopters to UW Hospital in Madison.
“The weather at the time of the departure from La Crosse was well above the visual flight rule minimums,” he said.
Clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration isn’t the only factor determining when Med Flight will operate again.
UW Hospital doctors, nurses and pilots, who are mourning the loss, also must conduct a formal debriefing of the incident, said Dr. Ryan Wubben, associate medical director of Med Flight.
And they need to decide when they’re mentally and emotionally fit to fly, Wubben said. That could take days or weeks, possibly longer than FAA clearance.
“Right now it’s fresh and raw, and we just don’t know how long,” Wubben said Monday. “But I don’t think it will be terribly long, since people in this business like to do what they do.”
A family memorial service for Bean and Lipperer has been set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Monona Terrace in Madison.
In addition, details are pending for memorials UW Hospital and Madison Area Technical College plan to have for all three crew members.
