Names released of four first responders killed in New Mexico helicopter crash

The four first responders that died Saturday July 16 when a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter crashed northeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico have been identified: Undersheriff Larry Koren, Lieutenant Fred Beers, Deputy Michael Levison, and Rescue Specialist Matthew King. They were the only personnel on board.

All worked for the Sheriff’s Department except for Mr. King who was with the Bernalillo County Fire Department.

The Sheriff’s Department said in a news release July 17 that the “Metro 2” helicopter and its crew were assisting with the East Mesa Fire, providing bucket drops and other air logistics needs to fire crews on the ground.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Dept. Metro 2
File photo of Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Dept. Metro 2. BCSO photo

The helicopter, a Bell UH-1H Huey, N911SZ, was destroyed.

Our sincere condolences go out to the families, friends, and co-workers of these men.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

9 thoughts on “Names released of four first responders killed in New Mexico helicopter crash”

  1. This is a tragic and heartbreaking accident, sadly leaving behind grieving parents, wives and children. As a retired safety professional from Los Alamos, I have learned that it is essential to identify why the accident occurred, in order to formulate the necessary precautions to prevent, or at least mitigate, future accidents.
    A sign of “third world backwardness” is when accidents or disasters reoccur. For example, the “controlled burn” disaster, which destroyed over 300 New Mexico homes in 2000 reoccurred this year (2022), from other “controlled burns.” Now that our forests are gone and people, including these four men, have perished as a related consequence of “controlled burns,” what is the government doing about preventing “controlled burns?”
    Those four brave men and their families have paid the ultimate price in protecting our forests, homes and people. We need to know what will be done to prevent reoccurrence of the helicopter crash and the “controlled burn” that led to the crash.

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    1. It says right there in the first graf “They were the only personnel on board.” One of them was therefore the pilot.

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      1. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered flags to fly at half-staff through sundown Friday in honor of the first responders killed in Saturday’s crash.

        Among them was Undersheriff Larry Koren, 55, a veteran pilot who had been with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office for more than two decades. He was part of a New Year’s Day mission to rescue employees and a tram operator who got stuck while descending in the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

        Lt. Fred Beers, 51, also helped with that winter rescue and was among those killed in Saturday’s crash. Beers, who had been with the sheriff’s office for 13 years, left behind a wife and son.

        Also killed were Deputy Michael Levison, 30, who had been with the sheriff’s office since 2017 and had served in the New Mexico Air National Guard, and Bernalillo County Fire Department Rescue Specialist and Paramedic Matthew King, 44, who was a husband and father of two children.

        https://www.ems1.com/helicopter-crash/articles/ntsb-nm-helicopter-helping-fight-wildfire-descended-quickly-before-crash-3YReVx4BjkVJSd2S/

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  2. I concur that there could be several possibilities why the Bell Huey crashed. The use of drones has got to be a plausible reason since so many people are getting FAA licenses for this new technology. But then there are still those people who do not adhere to the rules and regulations. Some of these folks are trying to get video to sell to news outlets as well as other media outlets. Nonetheless, the question of is NTBS performing an investigation into the accident?

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  3. It’s my understanding that it’s illegal to fly drones over wildfires since they can interfere with the helicopters dropping water on the wildfires. It wasn’t stated what caused the helicopter to crash. Could it be possible that drones were involved???

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  4. This incident is remarkable tragic. However, it does not divulge who was piloting the rotorcraft. I am wondering why the Bell Huey went down. Is the NTSB investigating the crash. These first responders were all young men. So very sad. My prayers are with their families.

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