A helicopter crashed in Logan, West Virginia, for unknown reasons Wednesday, killing six people, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Vietnam War-era helicopter was being used in connection to the reunion activities, an emergency management official told CNN, killing the sole flight crew member and five passengers, according to the FAA’s report.
A helicopter crash in West Virginia that killed all six people on board is under investigation — as the circumstances of the crash remain unclear. https://t.co/0NymdnQvLu pic.twitter.com/a7oI09CPZI
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 23, 2022
“Helicopter crashed under (unknown) circumstances on Blair Mt hwy while reportedly giving air tours, a/c consumed by fire,” the report states.
Cathy and I are praying for the families of those killed in this tragic helicopter crash. https://t.co/4yXkQVIpYf
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) June 23, 2022
“The Huey that crashed was the one that was being used at the reunion,” Logan County Emergency Ambulance Authority Chief of Operations Ray Bryant Bryant told CNN. The victims’ names haven’t been released, Bryant told CNN.
The helicopter’s tail number — N98F — is owned by MARPAT Aviation, which lists an address at Logan County Airport, according to CNN. The owner of the helicopter is Gordon F. Prescott, a cardiologist from Princeton, West Virginia, according to a search on the FAA’s database.
Bobbi Childs, who lives near the crash site, called 911 and saw someone inside the helicopter, she told WSZA.
“I ran as fast as I could go and I went under the guardrail and I went up to the helicopter,” she told WSAZ. “But the fire was just so hot, so intense, and that guy didn’t make it out of there.”
Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice tweeted Wednesday, “Cathy and I are praying for the families of those killed in this tragic helicopter crash.”
The FAA and the National Transporation Safety Board said they will investigate the crash.