NTSB releases new details in Chopper 6 crash that killed 2 crew members
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) moved the Chopper 6 wreckage Friday night from Wharton State Forest to a secure location to begin its investigation into the deadly crash.
Action News' Chopper 6 went down in Washington Township, Burlington County on Tuesday night.
The two crew members on board, 67-year-old pilot Monroe Smith and 45-year-old photographer Chris Dougherty, were both killed in the crash.
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NTSB investigators have been on the scene for two days now, sifting through debris as they try to figure out how and why Chopper 6 crashed into the Wharton State Forest.
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The helicopter was on its way back from an assignment in Galloway Township when it went down into a remote area of the forest around 8 p.m.
Investigators say they'll be looking at flight patterns of Chopper 6 from the entire day -- which we know had two other flights that day.
During a Friday afternoon news conference, Todd Gunther, with the NTSB, said the team has been "charting the wreckage," looking to see where the wreckage path began and ended.
Officials originally said the debris field from the helicopter was 100 yards, but Gunther said it is now about 200 yards long.
"We've determined that the approach path, or approach angle if you will, into the trees from the flight was very shallow. The aircraft hit at a very high speed, and after striking trees, it fragmented. The direct path, which we initially got the information from the FAA, which had measured, initially we thought was about 100 yards long," Gunther said.
The debris field is now believed to have doubled.
"It then traveled through the woods, through those 200 yards, before coming to rest. It was subjected to a post-crash fire. "Our examinations have also indicated that there was no type of in-flight fire or type of explosion with the aircraft."
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Gunther said the four main rotor blades have been recovered.
"There are breaks in the main rotor blades that indicate that the helicopter's main rotor was turning when it impacted the trees, and indicates that it was under power at the time," he said.
Both tail rotors were also broken.
"We confirmed that we have all four corners of the helicopter. That means we've got the nose, we have the tail, and then we have both sides. It appears on all major portions of the helicopter... are on scene," Gunther said.
He said officials will build a 2-D reconstruction of the aircraft.
Investigators say a preliminary report should be available in the next 10 to 15 days but a final report could take 18 months.
