Updated: 26 May 2021, 12:27
Invalid Date,
A BLACK Hawk helicopter carrying four people crashed into a Florida marsh on Tuesday, killing at least one person on the aircraft - with officials holding little hope for survivors. The crash appears to be a total loss, said Leesburg Fire Rescue officials in a Facebook post.
4
A Black Hawk Copper crashed in Florida, killing at least one person board - but the other three are feared deadCredit: News 6
4
The chopper was leading an exercise at the time of the crashCredit: Leesburg Fire Rescue Crews are still on scene mitigating the emergency and searching for survivors, the post went on.
4 dead in Black Hawk firefighting helicopter crash near Leesburg By Kevin Connolly and Asher Wildman Lake County UPDATED 5:22 PM ET May. 26, 2021 PUBLISHED 9:29 PM ET May. 25, 2021 PUBLISHED 9:29 PM EDT May. 25, 2021
SHARE
LEESBURG, Fla. All four crew members of a Sikorsky UH-60 firefighting helicopter were killed after a fiery crash into a swamp near Leesburg International Airport, police said Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
A Black Hawk firefighting helicopter crashed near Leesburg
The four crew members aboard have been confirmed dead
Leesburg Fire Rescue: The helicopter, on a training mission, appears to be total loss
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash
8:44 AM ET The Associated Press
LEESBURG, Fla. (AP) A firefighting helicopter carrying four people on a training exercise crashed near an airport in central Florida, killing all aboard.
The helicopter crashed into a marsh near Leesburg International Airport around 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a news release.
One body was recovered Tuesday night, and police officials on Wednesday confirmed that they also had found the bodies of the three others. The bodies were taken to a medical examiner s office where they will be positively identified.
A search and rescue effort began immediately after the crash, but the crash site couldn t be cleared because of hazards in the area, the Leesburg Police Department said in a news release Wednesday.
Workers with special brush-clearing equipment were called into help rescue crews get to the wreckage, Iozzi said.
City and county law enforcement and firefighting units, Lake EMS, FAA and National Transportation Safety Board officials responded to the scene.
Most of the fire is under control now. US forestry is on scene plowing a line around the scene to prevent any vegetation fires. FFA has been notified of the crash and will start their investigation tomorrow.
Firefighters were still fighting the blaze after 7 p.m.
Authorities did not release the name of the helicopter company.
FAA said it would release the identifying tail number as soon as possible. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will be looking into what caused the crash.