Medical flight crews remembered

In May, a memorial event was held in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US to honour air medical crews who have died performing their job. During the ‘Fallen Angels’ ceremony, which was attended by local people and fellow medical flight crew members, a flyover was performed by an air ambulance helicopter and an honour guard was formed by area fire and police departments. In addition, the ceremony included a special tribute to the crew of a Carolina Lifecare helicopter, who were killed in a crash in 2009. Fallen Angels is a charity that helps the families of survivors of medical helicopter accidents and promotes air medical transport safety. Mary-Ann Melville, a director of the Fallen Angels, said: “We build memorials to honour, remember and heal. There are a lot of members in this community, especially in the flight community, and the families of Patrick Walters, Diana Conner and Claxton Dove [victims of the 2009 crash], who are still healing.”