COMPTON – A medical chopper hit bad weather Monday night and was returning to the its base at a Rockford hospital when it crashed in a cornfield, killing all three aboard, officials said Tuesday.

Pilot Andy Olesen, 65, and flight nurses Jim Dillow, 40, and Karen Hollis, 48, were experienced REACT responders, and this was the aircraft's first crash in its 21 years with the program, Rockford Health Systems officials said.

National Weather Service observations showed light snow, 7-mile visibility and light winds in the area around the time of the crash, meteorologist Jamie Enderlen said.