More detail on this person: Medical helicopter
headed to Houston crashes; four die, By MIKE
GLENN and CAROLYN FEIBEL This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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Four people died early Sunday after their medical
helicopter crashed inside Sam Houston National
Forest, officials said. "The helicopter was
totally disintegrated upon impact," said
Department of Public Safety Trooper John Sampa.
"It took down a couple of pine trees." PHI Air
Medical, the company that owns the private air
ambulance, identified three dead crewmembers as
pilot Charles Wayne Kirby, flight nurse Jana
Bishop and flight paramedic Stephanie Waters. The
air medical team was based at Coulter Field in
Bryan, officials said. The identity of the
58-year-old male patient was being withheld
pending
notification of relatives, company officials
said.
The helicopter left Huntsville Memorial Hospital
and was heading to Memorial Hermann Hospital in
Houston when it crashed, officials said. PHI told
federal aviation officials that the Bell 407
helicopter went down about 2:45 a.m. Sampa said
it left a debris trail 1,000 feet long and 30 feet
wide. There was no sign of fire or explosion. The
helicopter crashed on private property within the
forest. The closest road to the crash is Ball,
with the crash site on the Gene Campbell Ranch
about 1.25 miles east of the road in the middle of
the woods. "Two minutes after they took off they
lost communications," Sampa said. "It had an
impact and it skidded the rest of the way."
The Montgomery County Hospital communications
center lost contact with the helicopter about 2:47
a.m., Sampa said. At 3 a.m., the pilot failed to
report the craft's last position. Protocol
dictates the pilot check in every 15 minutes. A
DPS helicopter crew spotted the wreck and
highway patrol authorities found the bodies about
8:34 a.m. They were pronounced dead at 9:45 a.m.
Harris County EMS official Don Stamps said
locating the wreckage was difficult because the
helicopter crashed into an inaccessible section of
the heavily forested national park. "It's a very,
very remote area," said Stamps, whose agency
often works
closely with the private air ambulance company.
"The rescue crew had a heck of a time getting in
because of the remote access."
PHI said it tracked the downed helicopter through
the onboard global position system device. It was
about 5-10 miles from Huntsville Memorial
Hospital. "PHI Air Medical is devastated by the
loss of the patient and our friends and
colleagues," the company said in a statement. "We
mourn with the patient's family for their loss and
are with the families of our colleagues at this
time."
An air safety investigator from the National
Transportation Safety Board arrived on scene at
4:15 p.m. Jennifer Kaiser will lead the
investigation, but others from Washington, D.C.,
and Dallas are due to arrive Monday morning.
The helicopter is owned by Lafayette, La.-based
PHI Inc. According to the company's Web site, it
also provides helicopter services to the offshore
oil and gas and mining industries.The Sam Houston
National Forest is about 50 miles north of
Houston. It covers more than 167,000 acres in
Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker counties.
On Oct. 22, 2006, a PHI Inc. helicopter crashed
into the water while flying to an off-shore oil
platform in the Gulf of Mexico, according to
National Transportation Safety Board records. The
pilot and co-pilot were the only crewmembers on
board the Sikorsky S76 helicopter at the time.
They received minor injuries and were later
treated at a nearby hospital, company officials
said in a statement released after the crash.
According to the NTSB investigation, the flight
crew made two attempts the previous day to reach
the oil platform, which was located about 60 miles
into the Gulf of Mexico. They were unsuccessful
because of the
weather. On Oct. 22, the helicopter crashed into
the water while the crew was activating the
windshield wipers and preparing the craft's
emergency
flotation system, according to the NTSB report.
They were able to escape from the downed
helicopter and swam more than two hours until they
reached an abandoned oil platform _ where they
were eventually rescued, the NTSB report stated.
The helicopter rolled over and sank into the
water. It was recovered a
few days later, officials said. According to the
NTSB report, the probable cause of the accident
was the flight crew's failure to maintain
clearance with the water and their diverted
attention to secondary tasks. The low ceiling and
heavy rains restricting their visibility was
listed as a contributing factor in the crash.
From: Mike Glenn
Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5825748.
html
September 10, 1944 ? June 8, 2008
On Sunday, June 8, 2008, Charles Wayne "Paw
Paw" Kirby gave his life serving his community and
fellow man. In the early morning hours of June 8,
his life was taken suddenly operating a life
flight mission.
Wayne's life of service was one filled with
serving in a variety of ways and places. Of
course, his most recent call to service began in
January 2007 when he became one of four PHI Air
Med pilots on the Air Med 12 Unit Team based out
of Coulter Field in Bryan.
His 32-year employment with PHI began in January
1976 until Sunday, June 8, 2008. During his tenure
with PHI, he served the company in many locations
along the Gulf Coast in support of the oil and gas
industries. Prior to joining PHI's Air Medical
Unit here in Bryan, he was a pilot for PHI's
operation in Cabinda, Angola, for 12 years.
Wayne was born in Houston to Mamie and C.L
Kirby on September 10, 1944. He was a member of
Broadway Baptist Church for many years until he
recently moved his membership to First Baptist
Church in Bryan. He graduated from Charles H.
Milby High School in 1963.
After graduation, Wayne became a full time student
at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas, and
later was a student at the University of Houston
in Houston. While a student at the University of
Houston, he married Sally Jean Vinson at Riverview
Baptist Church on November 27, 1965. After his
tour of duty in the military, Wayne later
completed a Bachelor of Science in economics
from the University of Maryland in January 1976.
Given his life of service, it seems only fitting
that Wayne gave nine years of his life in the U.S.
Army serving his country. He was commissioned a
2nd Lieutenant as a field artillery officer.
However, he soon fell in love with flying and
later went to flight school, graduating in
February 1968.
After graduation, he served two aviation tours in
Vietnam; one with the Air Cavalry at Tay Ninh and
one with the 20th Engineering Brigade at Bien Hoa.
He was honorably discharged from the Army in
November 1975 after completing a tour with the
25th Aviation Brigade in Mainz, Germany.
During his time in Vietnam, he received the
following awards for his flying service: the
Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air
Medals, a Broken Wing Award and an honorable
discharge. Until the present accident, as a
civilian pilot, he completed 32 years of
accident-free flying service.
Wayne's hobbies outside of work included
motorcycle riding. He was the proud owner of two
Harley Davidson motorcycles and was a member of
the local Brazos De Dios Motorcycle Club. He had
a love for all kinds of hunting, especially
hunting deer.
But no hobby or love of hobby was greater than Paw
Paw's love for his grandchildren, Tyler, Hannah,
Sarah and Seth. Fortunately for them and him, his
last day was dedicated to creating beautiful
memories with them.
Wayne meant a tremendous amount to his family.
Even though our loss is great, we take comfort in
knowing Wayne had a saving relationship with his
Savior Jesus Christ. John 1:6 reads, "Love means
living the way God commanded us to live?Live a
life of love."
He was preceded in death by his father, Charles
Louis "C.L." Kirby.
Survivors include his 95-year-old mother, Mamie
Margaret "NaNa" Kirby of Lovelady, Texas; aunt,
Minnie Hester of Crockett, Texas; loving wife of
42 years, Sally Jean Kirby; son and
daughter-in-law, Ronald Wayne and Heather Lea
Kirby of Brenham; daughter Kari Ann Kirby of
Bryan, four grandchildren, Tyler James Wilson of
Bryan, Hannah Elizabeth Kirby, Sarah Abigail Kirby
and Seth Jacob Kirby, all of Brenham; sister and
brother-in-law, Shirley Ann and Gary N. Joiner of
Boerne, Texas; two brothers-in-law, James Charles
Vinson of Victoria, Texas, and Timothy Scott
Vinson and wife, Deborah Faye, of Deer Park,
Texas; and many relatives, nieces, nephews and
cousins from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and
California.
A memorial service will be held for Wayne at 2
p.m. Sunday, June 15, at First Baptist Church in
Bryan. A visitation among family and friends will
be held following the memorial service in the
atrium of First Baptist Church in Bryan. A later
burial will follow at the National Cemetery at
Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
So much has been written about Wayne's service to
his community and country and as important as
they are, none surpasses the way in which he
devoted his life to serving and meeting the needs
of his family. Each member has benefited from his
love and generosity. No one more so than his wife
Sally. She has been battling colon cancer for the
last 11 years and it goes without saying she owes
him a debt of gratitude for the selfless way he
went about meeting her needs. Oh how you will be
missed, sweet Wayne.
Our family mourns not only for Wayne, but also
with the families of Jana, Stephanie and Mr.
Disman.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that
memorials may be made to the Building or General
Fund at First Baptist
Published in The Bryan-College Station Eagle from
6/13/2008 - 6/14/2008.