COFFEE COUNTY – Officials have identified the four victims who died when a Haynes Lifeflight helicopter crashed early this morning in Coffee County.

According to reports, the EMA has confirmed the  victims as Chad Hammond, pilot; Stacey Cernadas, flight nurse; Jason Snipes, flight medic; and Zach Strickland, patient.

James Brown, deputy director of the Coffee County Emergency Management Agency, said the helicopter was reported missing at 12:17 a.m. “After an extensive search, the aircraft was discovered at 7:02 this morning.”

Kirk Barrett of Haynes Ambulance declined to comment. “This is a horrible tragedy. We are just concentrating on the families right now,” he said.

Brown said the helicopter crashed in a deeply wooded area in the Goodman Community, off County Road 615 . “It’s something nobody would want to happen to anybody,” he said. “It’s a bad situation.”

The helicopter was based at Troy Regional Medical Center and had been dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle accident in Coffee County. “They picked up a patient, from what I understand he had a broken leg and was unconscious,” Brown said.

The Eurocopter AS350 was enroute to Montgomery when the crash occurred. “We don’t really know what happened,” Brown said, adding the crash was “very soon after takeoff, within three minutes.”

He said he would not speculate on what could have caused the crash.

“We did a four mile search. We figured that’s about how far they would be,” Brown said. “They were discovered about a half mile from the accident.”

Brown said the search began shortly after midnight, using helicopters; search teams; and triangulation through cell phone systems. “First responder safety is always our first concern. That’s why we had to wait a little bit to send up another helicopter to search because we had some fog last night,” he said.

A team from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived Saturday and crews from the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive later today.

Capt. Tracy Nelson of the Alabama State Troopers said weather conditions and the remote location of the crash site affected the identification and recovery efforts.

“It’s actually in a heavily wooded area … we’re just now making progress to get it where we can access the area,” he said around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Nelson said crews from the forestry service were on hand with bulldozers, attempting to clear a path to access the site, which he estimated to be within a mile of the site of the car crash.

“It’s a pretty wet area, and with all this rain moving in, it’s going to make things very difficult,” he said. “We’re trying to utilize each resource possible and trying to make this a better outcome.

Teresa Grimes, CEO of Troy Regional where the Lifeflight was based, said the hospital staff were saddened and shocked.

“The Troy Regional Medical Center family is saddened today by the tragic loss of the Haynes helicopter crew members and the patient being transferred,” she said. “We will be in prayer for their families as well as the Haynes ambulance and flight staff.”

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said the accident was “a devastating loss for our community and for the many others in the area.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the crew and patient who lost their lives as well a the hundreds of staff and first responders who work with Haynes hand-in-hand across the region,” he said. “We will continue to pray for those grieving this loss and those who place their lives in harm’s way daily to keep our communities safe.”