FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Two medical helicopters collided Sunday afternoon about a half-mile from a northern Arizona hospital, killing six people and critically injuring another, a federal official said. Three of the fatalities were aboard a Bell 407 helicopter operated by Air Methods out of Englewood, Colo. At least one of the dead was the patient. Three others were killed aboard a Bell 407 helicopter operated by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah. A fourth person on that helicopter was critically injured. Classic Helicopters spokesman Matt Stein said his company's crew was landing at the hospital carrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon's South Rim. Stein said the helicopter's pilot, paramedic and patient all died in the crash. A flight nurse was in critical condition at Flagstaff Medical Center. "We've been in business 20 years, and these are the first fatalities we've experienced," Stein said. "They were all heroes. They were out doing a great service for their communities." Stein didn't tell The Associated Press the names of the crash victims, except to say that the pilot for Classic was experienced with over 10,000 hours of flight time. He added that it's rare for two medical helicopters to attempt to land at a hospital at the same time. Flagstaff Medical Center doesn't have flight controllers, he said, and it's up to the pilots to watch each other as they approach. "It's just a very unfortunate tragedy," Stein said. Stein is a program director and lead pilot with Classic Helicopters subsidiary Classic Lifeguard Aeromedical Services in Page, Ariz. Air Methods officials didn't immediately return calls from the AP on Sunday. Capt. Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Flagstaff Fire Department, said the helicopters crashed in a wooded area about a half-mile from Flagstaff Medical Center. He didn't know what the helicopters were doing at the time of the accident. The helicopters spread debris across the scene. "They're not recognizable as helicopters," he said. Johnson said two emergency workers with a ground ambulance company suffered minor burns in an explosion on one of the aircraft after the crash. The injuries were not life-threatening, he said. The FAA is sending inspectors from Washington, D.C., and Phoenix to investigate. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said a team will leave for Flagstaff from Washington, D.C., on Monday to take over the crash investigation. Holloway said NTSB teams typically issue a preliminary report that includes only the general facts surrounding the crash. A full report that describes the cause of the crash usually comes within 12 to 18 months. The crash started a 10-acre brush fire that authorities were able to extinguish, said Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Gerry Blair. Last summer, two news helicopters collided while covering an auto chase near Phoenix, killing all four people on board. Flagstaff is about 130 miles north of Phoenix.

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