Condolences have flooded Mayo Clinic’s Facebook page since it was reported that three people, including two Mayo employees, were killed in a plane crash to retrieve a donated organ for a patient on Monday.
Mayo Clinic identified the two employees killed as Dr. Luis Bonilla, 49, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon (at left), and David Hines, a procurement technician from Kentucky. Both were employed by the Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville location. The Florida Times-Union reports that the third person killed was E. Hoke Smith, the pilot and president of SK Jets, the company that owned the helicopter.
The helicopter departed Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville at 5:45 a.m. to retrieve a donated heart at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said no flight plan was filed for the helicopter.
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Just before 6 a.m., the helicopter crashed in a remote, dense pine forest southwest of Green Cove Springs — about midway between Gainesville and Jacksonville. Around noon, the wreckage was spotted by another helicopter. The crash started a fire that burned about 10 acres, the Times-Union reported.
There was light fog but no rain at the time of the crash, according to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville. Officials with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Owned and operated by SK Jets, the helicopter was a Bell 206, which MedCity readers noted is not a medical air ambulance but rather a routine, multipurpose charter helicopter. At a press conference this morning, NTSB investigator Jose Obergon said there were no indications of a problem before the crash and that the helicopter did not have a black box that recorded the flight’s activity.
SK Logistics Jets has been working with Mayo since 1997, the company’s Vice President Derrick Smith told First Coast News. He said that flight plans are typically filed by SK pilots, even though they are not required by law.
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“As we mourn this tragic event, we will remember the selfless and intense dedication they brought to making a difference in the lives of our patients,” said Mayo President and CEO John Noseworthy in a prepared statement. “We recognize the commitment transplant teams make every day in helping patients at Mayo Clinic and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.”
The viability of the heart that was being transported expired and it couldn’t be used in another transplant, a Mayo spokeswoman said.
First Coast News has photos from the scene.
