By Bill Lawson
Stephens Media
CLINTON — Kenny Meyer Jr. was not scheduled to be flying this morning. It was his day off as flight nurse for the Vilonia-based Air Evac Lifeteam crew.
But the pregnant wife of the scheduled flight nurse had her baby Monday night, a few days earlier than expected, so Meyer filled in for his co-worker.
Meyer was one of three crew members killed in the crash of a Bell 206 Ranger medical evacuation helicopter near Clinton this North-Central Arkansas city about 70 miles north of Little Rock.
“This is a tragic day for us here at Air Evac Lifeteam,” company President and CEO Seth Myers said. “These were members of our family and we are devastated at the loss. Our focus at this time is on providing support for the family and friends of these crew members.“
Kenneth Robertson of Searcy, a decorated Marine helicopter pilot with combat experience, was the pilot killed in the crash.
Robertson had moved to Arkansas recently to head up a four-pilot rotation working out of Vilonia that serves Central Arkansas by answering emergency medical calls for helicopter transport.
The third crew member, Gayla Gregory of Clarksville, was the paramedic on the flight. The 1975 Alma High School graduate and former director of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith paramedic program also had been sent in to fully staff the crew on duty at the time.
By this afternoon, a spray of red carnations stood beside the Vilonia Air Evacuation Base sign and an American flag flew at half-staff in honor of the crew members who died in the crash.
The Air Evac crew is based in a small portable building just behind the Vilonia Fire Department, south of U.S. Highway 64 in downtown Vilonia. The facility is bounded by a small strip of grass about 20 yards by 20 yards where the helicopter lands.
Firefighters who work alongside the flight crews, both at their offices and in the field, said the crews are a close-knit group.
Veteran Vilonia firefighter Bill Reed said the flight crew was a “good group of guys who got along pretty well.”
Vilonia Fire Chief Keith Hillman, remembered Meyer as “a good worker … awesome, a super nice guy.”
