A medical helicopter carrying a heart patient crashed in a rural area, leaving the patient dead and three crew members injured.

A paramedic on board used his cell phone to call dispatchers early Wednesday about the crash and then waved a flashlight to signal where to find them.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

State police Sgt. Todd Ringle said the crash happened after the pilot "started to make a turn, and as he was doing so, he started to tumble."

An autopsy was scheduled Wednesday to determine whether the patient, Jerry R. Leonard, 63, of Birdseye, died from his medical condition or injuries suffered in the crash about 20 miles northeast of Evansville,

Leonard was being flown on a Bell Jet Ranger registered to Air Evac Lifeteam from St. Joseph Deaconess Hospital in Huntingburg to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville when it crashed, Ringle said.

Shortly after midnight, Robert Williams, 29, of Paragon, used a cell phone to call dispatchers for Air Evac Lifeteam in West Plains, Mo., to report the crash, said Toni Chritton, a spokeswoman for Air Evac Lifeteam.

Three medical helicopters — one from Kentucky and two from Illinois — and a fourth from the Indiana State Police searched for the crash site for more an hour before it was located in a hilly remote area.

"It was in the middle of the night. We had no idea where they were," Chritton said. "The paramedic was the only one able to tell us where to locate the aircraft to get the help they needed to the scene."

Chritton, however, said it was too early to know what happened.

"We truly don't know if he was making an emergency landing or he crashed," Chritton said.

The pilot, Richard Larock of Shepherdsville, Ky., was partially ejected and was listed in stable condition at University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Ky., Ringle said.

A nurse, Steve Ritchey, 30, of Terre Haute, was in stable condition at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Chritton said. She said he was unconscious at the crash site.

Williams was undergoing surgery Wednesday at Deaconess, Chritton said.

Air Evac Lifeteam has 37 medical helicopters in 10 states.