Why 6abc helicopter crashed is still a mystery, NTSB official says; investigation expected to last 18 months
Investigators have found no evidence so far of an explosion or fire on board the helicopter before the crash in Burlington County.
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The lead investigator at the 6abc helicopter crash site said Friday that nothing has been found so far indicating why Chopper 6 went down Tuesday night in Burlington County, killing the pilot and a photographer.
Todd Gunther, the investigator in charge from the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news briefing several miles from the crash site that the investigation is expected to last a year and a half before a final report is issued.
A preliminary report will be released in the next two weeks containing “all of the facts, conditions and circumstances as we know it up to this point and is subject to change as we garner more information,” Gunther said.
The pilot, Monroe Smith, 67, of Glenside, and the photographer, Christopher Dougherty, 45, of Oreland, died when Chopper 6 went down in a wooded area in Washington Township.
Smith and Dougherty both worked for U.S. Helicopters, the North Carolina company that owned the 2013 American Eurocopter AS-350A-STAR. U.S Helicopters said it would cooperate with investigators. 6abc was leasing Chopper 6.
At the news briefing, Gunther said there was no evidence of an explosion or fire on board the helicopter before the crash, and there was no evidence of an emergency call or mayday declaration.
The blades from the helicopter’s main rotor and tail rotor were under power and spinning when Chopper 6 descended for an unknown reason and struck trees, Gunther said, adding that the resulting debris field was twice as large — about 200 yards long — than was initially believed.
Investigators are recovering the wreckage and will take the pieces to a secure location so they can be examined under controlled conditions, said Gunther, who declined to identify that location.
It was the third flight of the day for Chopper 6 and the crew was returning from an assignment when it crashed, Gunther said.
According to its flight history, the helicopter had a clean record with no reported accidents or incidents.
The NTSB was established in 1967 to investigate civil aircraft accidents in the United States, and determines their probable causes and issues safety recommendations.