NTSB: Pilot error caused fatal helicopter crash in Bahamas sandiegouniontribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sandiegouniontribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
West Virginia News
Jun 1, 2021
MIAMI (AP) Pilot error caused the helicopter crash that killed coal billionaire Chris Cline and six others in the Bahamas in 2019, federal officials said.
The two pilots’ decision to take off in the AgustaWestland AW139 over water in dark night conditions with no external visual reference resulted in spatial disorientation and the subsequent crash off the coast of Big Grand Cay, according to a report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Killed in the July 2019 crash were Cline, the two pilots, Cline’s adult daughter and three of her friends.
Investigators determined that the pilots were likely under external pressure from Cline, the aircraft’s owner, to complete the flight. Cline’s daughter and one of her friends were ill, and Cline wanted them taken from his private island to a Florida hospital, officials said.
(Bloomberg) Facing pressure to fly two sick people to the mainland, billionaire coal tycoon Christopher Cline’s helicopter pilots took off from his Bahamas…