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Three men were killed after the medical flight helicopter they were traveling in crashed late Saturday night. The helicopter belonged to UW Hospital. The medical team was on its way back to Madison after dropping off a patient in La Crosse. The helicopter was a New American Eurocopter EC13. It was leased to the university’s hospital in August of last year. The hospital had an air flight program for 23 years. Twenty-two nurses and 10 doctors work on the flights. They go on three or four flights a day. Saturday’s crash is the first crash for the facility. Air Methods, the company that flies the helicopters has about 300 of them in service. The last time one crashed was in 2006. The company says the two in Madison are checked daily, but they, along with 21 other choppers were grounded for a week in April after questions arose about paperwork. The university's other helicopter is grounded for the time being. If a helicopter is needed, it'll be provided by other hospitals. TODAY’S TMJ4’s I-Team recently investigated the dangerous reality that is medical aviation, and the truth is that aside from combat, they are the deadliest flights of all. The devastating truth is that the helicopter crash near La Crosse is far from an isolated incident. The I-Team’s six month investigation found major problems with medical flights. Problems that are costing lives. Cleveland, Kansas, D.C., Seattle, Amarillo, Green Bay… Between 2000 and 2005, ten percent of all air ambulances crashed. Experts say if commercial passenger jets crashed as often, 90 airliners would crash each year. "I think it's extremely, unnecessarily dangerous,” Air Safety Investigator Christine Negroni said. Christine Negroni is an air safety investigator "It's an overwhelming problem. It's a little known problem, and it's very concerning to me that the attention has not been paid to this because the people who die, die doing something heroic. There's no question they do,” Negroni said. So why are there so many crashes? There is very little federal regulation. Pilots don't have to follow FAA rules for pilot rest. Safety equipment isn't mandated, and no one tells them when it's just too dangerous to fly. "You can't put people's lives at risk to send a helicopter a place where they're not going to be able to get in safely, and more importantly, get out safely,” Negroni said. Justin Green is a decorated military helicopter pilot and one of the world's leading experts on medical aviation. "It's as dangerous as you can get unless you're over in Iraq flying in military aviation,” Green said. It will be quite some time until we know what caused Saturday night's tragic crash near La Crosse. The I-Team’s investigation found that in most medical chopper crashes, pilot error and weather were to blame, often in combination. The I-Team also recently talked with one family destroyed by a medical flight crash right here in Milwaukee. Emergency medical flights save lives, but they also cost lives. "It is an inappropriate cost. You don't kill people to save people. It's that simple,” Negroni said. Grieving parents are in disbelief. "We'll never be able to... We'll never be able to recover I don't think,” Sonny Lapensee said. Sloppy government oversight, poor pilot training, non existent safety equipment. Flying in many medical choppers is like flying in a time bomb. "It's as dangerous as you can get unless you're over in Iraq flying in military aviation,” Green said. "My heart is broke. I feel like part of me has died,” Lulu Lapensee said. Ricky Lapensee had it all: family he adored, good job as a firefighter, and in his spare time he worked on the organ transplant team at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. June 4, 2007, Ricky got the call that he needed to head to Milwaukee with a team of doctors and nurses to pick up a set of lungs. His mom will never forget that morning. "He said, 'I don't want to go,’” Lulu Lapensee said. “He said, ‘I’m afraid,’ and I don’t know why he said that.” That afternoon Ricky’s Cessna jet slammed into Lake Michigan at 250 miles per hour. "I walked out into the kitchen and he had just turned the TV on and they were talking about this plane that went down in Milwaukee and I said to him, 'that was Ricky’s plane,’” Lulu Lapensee said. “My heart just sank down to here,” Sonny Lapensee said. “We both died that day ourselves,” Lulu Lapensee said. “EMS flight for the flight crew is a very dangerous job,” Green said. Green is a decorated military helicopter pilot and one of the world's leading experts on medical aviation. "When you have a pilot who is under the pressure of an emergency mission trying to bring organs on an emergency basis you have that human nature and that noble sense of mission to complete that mission and mistakes can be made,” Green said. The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the Lapensee crash. Ricky Lapensee also flew many organ transplant missions in medical helicopters, the most dangerous flying, short of combat. "Too often either companies are run badly or bad pilots are let in or missions are flown that shouldn't be flown,” Green said. Every medical aviation operation claims that safety is number one. When Milwaukee Flight for Life makes that claim, the facts back it up. Since its inception in 1983 Flight for Life has transported 25,000 patients with no accidents. "We are passionate about patient care, but safety is our absolute number one priority,” Claire Rayford said. “If you are committed to safety, you are always looking to say ‘what is the next level?’” Charlie McCall has been a Milwaukee Flight for Life pilot for 23 years. "It's just like driving a car or a truck. Follow the rules and everything will turn out just fine,” McCall said. The problem is that there are very few rules. "Oh, Ricky. We miss you so much,” Lulu Lapensee said. "I think it's terrible. I think they ought to find a different way or something,” Lulu Lapensee said. “At least find a safer way anyhow,” Sonny Lapensee said. Late last year, a bill was introduced in Washington addressing some of the safety concerns surrounding medical flights. It could become law sometime this year. While Saturday’s crash is a first for the UW Hospital, Wisconsin has seen its share of helicopter crashes: tragedies that have taken the lives of superstars to sheriff's deputies. One of the worst helicopter crashes in Wisconsin killed blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in August 1990. Vaughan had just wrapped up a concert at Alpine Valley when his helicopter slammed into a hill in dense fog killing five people. Fans were devastated. “I just wanted to pay my respects throw some flowers on a hill for a great guy, great, great musician,” one fan said. Pilot error was to blame. In august of 2000, Milwaukee County's helicopter crashed in Dodge County, killing two sheriff's deputies: Sonny Bang and Ralph Zylka. They were returning to base from a search mission near the Dells when their chopper crashed in a farm field during foggy weather.