| Year Honored | |
|---|---|
| 2014 | |
| Honoree | |
| Charles Smith | |
| Title | |
| Pilot | |
| Agency | |
| Le Bonheur Pedi-Flite | |
| Agency City | |
| Memphis | |
| Agency State | |
| TN | |
| Last Call | |
| 10/22/13 | |
| Biography | |
| Charles Smith began his career at Hospital Wing in 2012. He retired from the aviation unit of the Memphis Police Department in 2012 after 25 years of service. He was a devoted husband and father and a well-experienced and respected pilot with over 3200 hours of flying time. He cared about his crew and paid attention to detail. He loved flying and helping people. Charles was an avid golfer, and he enjoyed coaching his boys' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife Chi have two boys, Keegan and Kyler.<br /> On the early morning of October 22, 2013, Charles was working with Flight Nurse Carrie Barlow and Respiratory Therapist Denise Adams. The crew planned to pick up a boy who was in renal failure at a Bolivar hospital and take him to Le Bonheur, but the helicopter never reached the destination.<br /> <br /> Approximately halfway into the flight, Charles did not respond to a routine 10-minute check-in. Shortly thereafter, a search for the helicopter was started by land and air. The helicopter had crashed in a wooded area of Somerville, Tennessee about 45 miles east of Memphis. There were no survivors.<br /> <br /> Honored 2014 |
The United States Official National EMS Memorial Service
