Medical helicopter crash off Catalina Island kills two, leaves patient missing
A Eurocopter EC135 P2 operated by REACH Air Medical Services crashed into the ocean near Pebbly Beach outside Avalon on September 30, 2026, while on a medical transport flight to Los Angeles, killing two of the five occupants and leaving one missing.1
Rescuers recovered four people from the water, with two pronounced dead at the scene and two taken to mainland hospitals in stable condition, while the missing individual was the patient being transported, according to Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark Leahy, and search crews continued the effort through the night and on October 1.1