October 20th a Day to Remember the Brave Flight Crew of AirHeart 1

Remembering Those Who Lost Their Lives in the Line of Duty

Wednesday, October 20th, 2004, is not only a day that Walton County citizens will remember, but multiple counties along the tri-state area. In the early morning hours of this October 20^th 2004, the crew of Sacred Hearts helicopter, AirHeart 1, lost their lives while attempting to save the life of someone else.

A call came in from Healthmark Hospital in DeFuniak Springs requesting a transport for a cardiac patient to be transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Shortly after taking off from their base in Santa Rosa Beach, they headed north towards DeFuniak Springs. Moments after take off they advised dispatch that they would be aborting the mission and returning to base due to weather. Seconds after notifying dispatch that they were going to abort the mission, AirHeart 1 tragically crashed in the Choctawhatchee Bay.

Hours later, Walton County emergency workers located the debris field on the south east side of the Bay. Helicopter Tom Palcic, Flight Nurse Jack Chase, and Paramedic Robert Heighton, were killed in the crash.

Tom Palcic, a pilot for Metro Aviation, was a highly respected pilot with 27 years of experience.

Jack Chase, a registered nurse employed by Sacred Heart, joined the AirHeart team in 2002.

Robert Heighton, a firefighter/paramedic, was a veteran of South Walton Fire District and worked for AirHeart as well.

A witness that was fishing in the bay that night reported that he saw a helicopter flying parallel to the bridge as the weather started to get rough. He stated that he saw the helicopter turn back east and then fly at a 45 degree angle before hitting the water. No one is sure why the witness never called 9-1-1 or reported it to the Walton County Sheriff's Office, which was only about a mile from the crash. The NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, later concluded that the accident was caused by severe weather that may, or may not, have been detected on the equipment used by Palcic. After the NTSB interviewed several other pilots that worked close to Palcic, they reported that Palcic was believed to be "experienced, mature, and confident in his decisions."