Sole survivor was able to use a flashlight to signal search crews for help

No patients were on board when helicopter crashed on a mountainside

A paramedic, who was the sole survivor of a medical helicopter crash which killed a nurse and the pilot, was able to use a flashlight to signal for help from the wreckage in the Arizona mountains.

Pilot David Schneider, 51, and Flight Nurse Chad Frary, 38, were killed in the fatal crash while Flight Paramedic Derek Boehm, 38, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

The crew of three had been on board the Native Air chopper when it went down on a mountainside about 12 miles north of Superior, a mining community outside Phoenix. No patients were on board at the time the crash.

Native Air have since updated their profile picture to a Native Air 5 badge with the caption RIP Native 5

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said the helicopter had been flying east from a Mesa airport, to the city of Globe, Arizona but he could not confirm if the crew had been responding to a medical emergency.

A spokesman for Air Methods, which owns Native Air, told Dailymail.com that they were 'deeply saddened' by the loss of two crew members.

Christina Brodsly told Dailymail.com: 'Last night we received tragic news that one of our Airbus AS350 B3 helicopters went down near Apache Junction in Arizona.

'The aircraft was carrying three crew members, and it is with a heavy heart that we must confirm that Pilot David Schneider, 51, and Flight Nurse Chad Frary, 38, were fatally injured.

'Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and loved ones. Flight Paramedic Derek Boehm, 38, is the sole survivor and is in fair condition.

'We are respecting the families' privacy during this difficult time, and ask that the media do the same.'

A fellow Native Air team, 20, paid tribute to the crew of Native Air 5 on its Facebook page.

'Our thoughts and prayers going out to the entire Native Air & Air Methods family, during this difficult time. God Speed to those we lost tonight.'

Babeu said an aerial search began after the helicopter was reported missing around 6pm yesterday.

There was not believed to have been a radio transmission from the aircraft before the fatal crash, and Bebeu said he was not aware of any report from the public about a crash in the Tonto National Forest.

A Native Air helicopter first spotted the wreckage at about 8.30pm after the survivor was able to signal for help using his flashlight.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter located it about a half-hour later, but neither was able to land because of rugged terrain.

The helicopter was flying from a Mesa airport east to Globe when it crashed into mountainside about 12 miles north of Superior, a mining community outside Phoenix

Rescue crews were able to locate the survivor in the wreckage of the crash in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Arizona after the survivor signaled them with his flashlight

The crash scene was sealed off overnight to preserve evidence before National Transportation Board Safety investigators arrive later today, Babeu said.

Air Methods confirmed it is cooperating with a Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

The medical helicopter crash is the second within days after an air ambulance chopper went down in Southern California, killing all four people on board last week, CNN reports.

Operated by SkyLife, the aircraft was transferring a patient in critical condition from Porterville Airport to the San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, on Thursday when it suddenly dropped out of communication.

The helicopter wreckage was discovered near the town of McFarland later that day.

Pilot Thomas Hampl, 49, was killed alongside nurse Marco Lopez, 42, and paramedic Kyle Juarez, 37.