A REACH Air Medical Services Eurocopter EC135 P2 carrying five people crashed into the Pacific near Catalina Island on the evening of September 30, 2026, killing two occupants and leaving one — the patient being transported — missing.

The helicopter went down near Pebbly Beach, outside Avalon, shortly before 20:00 local time, shortly after departing the island on a medical transport flight to Los Angeles. Rescuers pulled four people from the water, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Two were pronounced dead at the scene; the two survivors went to mainland hospitals in stable condition.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark Leahy confirmed the missing person was the patient being flown from the island. Search crews — including the US Coast Guard, Los Angeles County firefighters, sheriff's divers and Avalon emergency personnel — worked through the night and continued the search on October 1.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation and identified the aircraft type. Authorities report the wreckage lies in approximately 240 feet of water, a depth that will shape the recovery and evidence-gathering operation and likely require specialized salvage capability.

REACH confirmed one of its helicopters was involved and said it is coordinating with emergency responders and authorities. The company has not released further details on the crew or the circumstances of the departure from Catalina's airport, which serves the island's roughly 4,000 residents and its seasonal tourist traffic with regular medical evacuation flights to the mainland.

The accident is the second fatal event involving REACH in just over a year. In October 2025, another of the operator's helicopters crashed on a Sacramento freeway, critically injuring the crew; a flight nurse later died from injuries sustained in that accident, according to REACH. The back-to-back events will intensify scrutiny of one of the largest air medical operators in the western United States, and the NTSB's findings on both investigations — covering crew operations, weather conditions and the EC135's performance on short overwater sectors — are likely to carry consequences for HEMS operating procedures across the region.

The EC135 P2, a twin-engine light helicopter from Airbus Helicopters' predecessor Eurocopter, is a mainstay of emergency medical services fleets worldwide. The type has a strong dispatch record in HEMS operations, but overwater departures from island environments present distinct risk factors, including limited ditching options and rapid onset of night conditions — the crash occurred less than an hour before a 20:00 departure window closed.

Search operations for the missing patient were still under way as of October 1, with the Coast Guard coordinating the multi-agency response. The NTSB's preliminary report, typically issued within weeks of an accident, will provide the first official account of the flight path, communications and weather at the time of the crash.