Assistant Chief Pilot - UH60s and AS350 B3/H125 verticalmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from verticalmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Snorkel Suspect in Fatal Firefighting Copter Crash ainonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ainonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The account is part of the preliminary report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board about the May 17 crash which killed the pilot and three others.
An FAA report says a Blackhawk firefighting helicopter was doing water dump tests at the Leesburg airport when control of the bucket was lost, killing four onboard.
- May 27, 2021, 1:18 AM
The 1981 Sikorsky UH-60A that crashed and killed all four aboard Tuesday afternoon in Leesburg, Florida, was testing a new water bucket release system when the helicopter went down on undeveloped property at Leesburg International Airport (KLEE), the NTSB has confirmed to
AIN.
According to witnesses, the helicopter N9FH, which had previously seen military service with the U.S. Army was flying for Brainerd Helicopters, doing business as Firehawk Helicopters, on a restricted-category airworthiness certificate when the crew apparently lost control of the fire bucket, leading to a sequence in which the tail rotor section separated in flight. The helicopter crashed at approximately 4 p.m. local time and the wreckage was consumed in a post-crash fire. The crash site was described as woody, swampy, and inaccessible.