Minnesotans Die In North Memorial Health Helicopter Crash

BRAINERD LAKES, MN — Two were killed and one injured Friday when the North Memorial Health helicopter they were operating crashed as it entered Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport.

According to reports, Tim McDonald, 44, a Bloomington native who lived in Danbury, Wis., was piloting the helicopter. He and Deb Schott, 58, a nurse from Biscay, Minn., died at the scene. Paramedic Joshua Duda, 42, of Pillager, Minn., was injured when the helicopter went down at approximately 1 a.m. inside a fenced area at the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, the Star-Tribune reported. Conditions were foggy in the Brainerd area when the crash occurred, and no patients were being transported at the time.

A GoFundMe page was set up for McDonald, which states he was married with four children.

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