"He was a good safe pilot, who loved his job with the medical agency," said a co-worker. Lee saw the need to get help as fast as possible in many dire medical situations. He ran into rough weather and, no matter how good you are, nature can confront you and things can change in a hurry. The cloud cover was so low, even the search plane had to turn back.<br />
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Lee W Bothwell, 42, of Seattle, Washington, was killed in the line of duty on September 11, 1995. He was the pilot of a three-person team sent to transport a pregnant woman to the Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Before reaching the patient, however, the air ambulance crashed into the calm slate gray waters of Puget Sound in Washington. There were no survivors.<br />
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Mr. Bothwell was employed by Airlift Northwest as a medical pilot. He had more than 20 years flying experience in the military, often flying medical missions out of Fort Lewis, according to Hospital Air transport Chief Pilot Eugene Hill.<br />
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A scholarship program established by Airlift Northwest, located in Seattle, Washington, honors those lost in the line of duty. It gives out scholarships during the National EMS Conference in the area of clinical education, and the education of safety and medical training for Emergency Medical Services.<br />
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Honored 2008 |