MADISON, Wis. --

The tragic deaths of the University of Wisconsin Med Flight crew members this weekend has shocked and saddened members of Madison's entire medical community -- a group that considers itself a tight-knit family.

The three victims -- Dr. Darren Bean, a physician, Mark Coyne, a registered nurse, and Steve Lipperer, the pilot -- were killed when the Med Flight helicopter crashed on Saturday night on a return trip from La Crosse. The three victims all lived in Madison

"This is a tremendous loss to our staff but also to the family and friends of those who died today," said Donna Katen-Bahensky, UW Hospital CEO in a Sunday morning news conference.

She offered prayers to the victims' families.

Bean was a Med Flight doctor for UW Hospital since 2002. After becoming Madison's Fire Rescue medical director, he appeared on WISC-TV several times to talk about the importance of CCR training, a CPR-like technique.

"His passion at the moment was CCR and teaching people how to revive victims of heart attacks and keep them alive. He was very excited about that work," said Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.

Cieslewicz attended the news conference and expressed his condolences to the victims' loved ones. Bean had recently appeared on the mayor's cable show.

Besides his Med Flight duties, Bean was also an assistant professor at UW's School of Medicine.

Mark Coyne was a registered nurse for Med Flight for 22 years and had worked at UW for 27 years.

"I've known Mark for at least 20 years. He's an excellent nurse. He has a very strong emergency medical systems background," said Mark Hanson, director of UW Med Flight operations.

Coyne was also an EMT and taught at Madison Area Technical College (MATC).

The third victim, Med Flight pilot Steve Lipperer, was at UW Hospital for eight years. He was employed by Air Methods of Denver, the company that leases the hospital's aircraft.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said that the three victims dutifully served the public for years.

"Their careers, their whole lives have been dedicated to making all the rest of us safer. Decades of getting up late at night or early in the morning to go do their jobs so we could all be safer," she said. "We owe them a profound, profound gratitude and sympathy to them and to their families."

Gov. Jim Doyle's office issued a statement expressing sorrow for the victims.

"In our moments of greatest peril, our lives depend on the courageous work of Med Flight personnel," Doyle said in the statement. "Dr. Darren Bean, Mark Coyne and Steve Lipperer dedicated themselves to rescuing people who faced the longest odds, and we owe them tremendous gratitude for their extraordinary service and dedication. I pray for them, their families and all the others who love them."

Dealing with this sudden tragedy, Katen-Bahensky said that just like a family, they'll be there for one another

"We're going to take good care of each other. We're going to spend the week supporting staff with social workers, with managers and we will be doing whatever we can to try and help them get through this," she said.

MATC officials said that they're also devastated by this loss. Coyne taught at MATC for 21 years, instructing all skill levels of emergency medical certifications. Fellow instructors and his students said that they're mourning their colleague. They said that he touched thousands of lives through the classes that he taught.

"One time just in passing to me, we were at a conference, and we were talking about teaching, and he said 'A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.' And that is so true when I think about all the candles he lit," said Todd Cole, Coyne's friend.

Monday will be especially tough for 26 of Coyne's students in his EMT Basics Course. They are set to take their National Registry Exam, which will certify them as EMTs.

Coyne's family issued a statement wishing to thank everyone close to his family for their thoughts and prayers. "Mark was passionate about nursing and teaching. He died doing what he loved and his inspiration will live on in his family, friends, co-workers and students. Special thanks to the staff of the UW Health/University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics for their professionalism," the statement read.