MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) - The three victims who were killed during a medical helicopter crash in Mississippi have been identified.

A motorcade escorted the bodies of the three victims from the Madison County Coroner's Office to the State Crime Lab on Tuesday, March 11.

The three victims died when the helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area south of the Natchez Trace Parkway and north of Pipeline Road on Monday, March 10.

Officials with the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) said two UMMC employee crew members and a Med-Trans pilot were on board the AirCare helicopter at the time of the crash. No patient was on board.

UMMC identified the victims as Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia; Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo; and Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville.

Pope was the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus and a flight nurse. Kindt was a critical care paramedic. They had both started working for UMMC on August 14, 2017, according to officials. Wesolowski was the Med-Trans pilot.

Funeral arrangements have been announced for Pope. His service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 at Macedonia Revival Center in Philadelphia. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m.

Dr. LouAnn Woodward, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at UMMC, said AirCare 3, based in Columbus, had flown to the Medical Center to transport a patient and was returning to Columbus when the accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Monday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash.

The NTSB arrived in Mississippi on Tuesday to begin their investigation and are expected to be in the area for about a week. Officials said AirCare 3 ceased communications with air traffic control and then made contact with their base. They indicated there was a flight control problem, and they were going to attempt a landing in a field.

According to the NTSB, authorities received a 911 call from an employee at the Pearl River WMA stated that he saw and heard the helicopter crash. First responders indicated an initial fire plume followed by a secondary explosion about 15 to 20 minutes later. Officials said it took two to three hours to extinguish the fire due to the remote location of the crash.

The NTSB team at the site on Tuesday observed damage to trees, which would be consistent with a rotor strike. They said the debris field is in a localized area that's in about six to eight inches of water. Officials said there's also extensive thermal damage. The aircraft will be removed at a later date by a salvage operator.

The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report within 30 days and a final report within one to two years.

UMMC officials said AirCare transport services have been temporarily grounded, and the Medical Center is working with health care and medical transportation services around the state to meet the needs of Mississippians.  

The NTSB encouraged people with video of the crash to email the agency at witness@ntsb.gov.