Doctors and nurses often sacrifice a great deal of their time, money, and personal lives for their work caring for patients. Sadly, three medical professionals made the ultimate sacrifice in a fatal accident late Saturday night May 10. A flight surgeon, a nurse, and their pilot died when their helicopter crashed during a routine medical flight to a hospital.

According to the New York Times / AP report, the helicopter went down just three miles from its destination, the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. Other helicopter flights were grounded by the company while the cause of the crash is investigated. My heart goes out to the victims’ families, who may hopefully find some comfort in the positive impact their loved ones certainly made through their lifesaving work as part of a medical flight team.