Three injured in helicopter crash during training event in Hartford

MADISON COUNTY, Ill - An ARCH Air Medical helicopter crashed during a training event Thursday night in Hartford, leaving three people injured. According to a spokesperson for the FAA, the crash occurred around 9:20 p.m. while the helicopter was taking off during a training event with the Hartford Fire Department. The helicopter involved in the crash was an MMB-BK 117. In a Facebook post prior to the crash, the Hartford Fire Department shared that the helicopter was scheduled to land in a vacant lot across from Date Street. The crash may have occurred after the helicopter clipped a tree while lifting off. Air Methods, ARCH's parent company, confirmed that the ARCH 1 crew from Granite City was involved in the incident and that the pilot, along with two crew members, was taken to local hospitals for treatment. Multiple departments responded to the crash, including the Wood River Fire Department and police from Roxana and South Roxana. Ashley Quigley, a resident near the crash site, described the scene following the helicopter crash. "It went up maybe a foot, it started hitting the trees, and stuff was flying. It was twisting all over, all of the sudden it came down with a big boom and started catching fire," Quigley said. "The fire truck came around and started trying to put it out. The fire went out a little bit but then it started going back up in big smoke again and they were just trying to grab the people who were on the ground, trying to help them. It was literally the craziest thing I've ever seen." An investigation into the crash is ongoing, with local authorities and Air Methods working to determine the cause of the incident. The conditions of the three people involved in the crash are unknown. All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence.  It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff.