UPDATE: 04/26/2022  1929   Authorities are releasing more information about the crash of a Mercy Flight helicopter this afternoon.

Both people on board were killed.

The Mercy Flight pilot was 60-year-old James E. Sauer of Churchville, New York.  Also on board was Bell Helicopter employee and pilot Stewart M. Dietrick, a 60-year-old from Prosper, Texas.  They were pronounced dead at the scene and brought to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

The Mercy Flight Bell 429 helicopter was based out of Batavia, New York and was on a training missing at the time of the collision.

The helicopter crashed off of Norton Road between Edgerton Road and Ford Road in the Genesee County town of Elba, New York.

Map of Crash Area in Elba, New York via Google Maps (April 2022)
Map of Crash Area in Elba, New York via Google Maps (April 2022)
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are still investigating the crash along with the NYSP Forensic Identification Unit, Collision Reconstruction Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Batavia Fire Department, and the Elba Fire Department assisted in this investigation.

This is still an ongoing investigation.

Original Story:

Two people were killed when a Mercy Flight medical helicopter crashed in the Genesee County Town of Elba.

State Police say the helicopter was on a training mission when it crashed at about 1:00 Tuesday afternoon.


State Police Major Eugene Staniszewski says the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate the crash.

He says weather did not appear to be a factor.

Staniszewski say downed power lines were visible near the wreckage but are not believed to have contributed to the crash.

“I don't believe the lines caused the crash but the aircraft may have struck the lines on the way down,”Staniszewski told the Associated Press.

Mercy Flight, based in Buffalo, transports patients to area hospitals

The non-profit houses its helicopter at the Genesee County Airport.

That’s a little less than three-miles from the crash site.

Mercy Flight is a  not-for-profit provider of emergency and non-emergency air and ground medical transport and supporting services.

Established in 1981, they have safely completed more than 26,000 patient missions over the last 36 years.

They provide around the clock care servicing all of Western New York, Northwestern Pennsylvania, Canada and beyond.

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