Flashback: Four die in medical helicopter crash that was en route to Houston

Bell 206L3 (D-HASA) Airport Weeze/Niederrhein/Raimond Spekking Wikimedia commons

Nine years ago this weekend, a medical helicopter en route to Houston crashed early Sunday morning in a remote area near Lake Raven in the Sam Houston National Forest, killing all four aboard.

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The helicopter had just picked up patient David Disman, 58, of Huntsville, on June 9, 2008 when it went down, leaving a 1,000-foot-long trail of debris.

“The helicopter was totally disintegrated upon impact,” said state Trooper John Sampa. “It took down a couple of pine trees.”

Also killed in the crash were pilot Wayne Kirby, 63, of Bryan, paramedic Stephanie Waters, 27, of Cedar Park, and nurse Jana Bishop of Magnolia, who would have turned 29 today.

Disman was being transferred to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

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The Bell 407 helicopter was part of a fleet operated in Texas and other states by PHI Air Medical, a Lafayette, La., based company that employed the crew, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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