Medevac helicopters transport patients to hospitals that can provide them with the best care. So when a helicopter meant to save lives crashes, it can feel doubly wrong. Four years ago, a medevac helicopter crash near McFarland sent shock waves through the first responder community and made headlines all over the Valley. So how could this happen? Was the company negligent? Was there engine trouble? To try and answer these questions, the National Transportation Safety Board spent years investigating the crash . Investigators corresponded with family members, interviewed pilots and executives from Rogers Helicopters (where the pilot worked), and dug into the company’s safety policies. The NTSB released its report in March of this year . According to the report, Thomas Hampl, the pilot, left the Porterville Municipal Airport on December 10, 2015 just before 7 p.m. He was transporting a patient named Kathy Brown, who was experiencing head, shoulder and arm pain, to a hospital in
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