Helicopter crashes in Fla., 3 killed

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- All three people aboard were killed when a helicopter leaving the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., crashed early Monday, officials said.

The Florida Times-Union, reporting on jacksonville.com, said the helicopter was bound for Gainesville on a mission to bring a heart to the clinic.

Two of the victims were identified as Mayo cardiac surgeon Luis Bonilla and procurement technician David Hines. The third victim, a contract pilot, had not been identified by late Monday, the newspaper said.

Lt. Russ Burke of the Clay County Sheriff's Office said the helicopter took off around 6 a.m. from St. Augustine airport and searchers did not see its wreckage until around noon.

"It's pretty busted up," Burke said.

Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were heading for the scene to begin the process of determining the cause of the crash, the newspaper said.

Fire officials said the crash touched off a fire in a wooded area that affected about 10 acres.

Gary Robb, a Kansas City attorney who specializes in aviation crashed, told the Times-Union the urgency of so-called donor missions can make them "among the most dangerous missions."