The TV news helicopter that crashed Tuesday in downtown Seattle — killing two people on board and injuring a third person on the ground — was a temporary replacement used while the station's own chopper was in the shop, the station said.
The helicopter, operated by local television network KOMO, an ABC affiliate, and also used by KING, an NBC affiliate, went down near Seattle's Space Needle about 7:40 a.m. (10:40 a.m. ET). Three vehicles were set ablaze, sending large plumes of smoke into the air.
Officials didn't know what caused the crash.
Killed were Bill Strothman, a retired news photographer with 13 Emmy awards who was working freelance, and Gary Pfitzner, a contract pilot well-known to the station's employees.
"Our family is grief stricken and in shock in the wake of the horrible tragedy that claimed the lives of Bill Strothman and Gary Pfitzner this morning," Strothman's family said in a statement, adding that it hoped to share his story later but for now preferred to make no further comment.
Molly Shen, an anchor at the station, described Strothman as "one of the best storytellers to have ever graced the halls of KOMO," while Dan Lewis, another anchor, said, "He put so much into getting just the right shots, the right video, putting it in the right place in the story."
Paramedics took a 38-year-old Seattle man, who managed to pull himself out of one of the burning cars, to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. He was later upgraded to serious condition with burns on his legs and back and will eventually need surgery, the hospital told NBC News.
The drivers in the other two vehicles weren't seriously injured, police said. Early reports indicated that a third person may have been on board the helicopter, but those reports appeared to have been caused by confusion over the burned driver.
Daniel Alejandro Gonzalez, a college student, was outside smoking a cigarette when he saw the helicopter crash between a gray truck and a red car. The driver of the red car was the one who climbed out, he said, but it took him several minutes.
"He was struggling really bad, and his shirt was burned a little bit," he said.
The helicopter — a Eurocopter AS350-B2 with space for the pilot and up to five passengers — was taking off from a downtown helipad when it crashed and burned, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It was lent to KOMO by Helicopter Inc. of Cahokia, Ill., near St. Louis, because its regular helicopter is at the company's facilities to have new equipment installed, the station said. Helicopters Inc. wouldn't comment Tuesday.
Sources told Greg Feith, a former investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, that the heliport was on a five-story office building and that because there was a lot of construction equipment in the area, it may have struck something.
Feith said investigators would likely look into why the helipad was used, given the construction equipment and long cables nearby.
The crash happened in the 400 block of Broad Street, next to Fisher Plaza, where KOMO is based. The weather was cloudy with winds of about 7 mph at the time.
The scene is just a few hundred yards from the iconic Space Needle, which is on the grounds of Seattle Center, one of the Pacific Northwest's busiest tourist attractions. The center draws about 10 million people a year, but "it was not busy" Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said.
"It's hard to say we were fortunate when two people have died and one person is in critical condition, but it could have been worse," Murray said. "If it had been a busier day, than it might have been a bigger tragedy than it was."
Seattle resident Ryan Kirk, who works three blocks from the Space Needle, was walking to a nearby coffee shop Tuesday morning when he heard a loud noise.
"I saw black smoke coming up right by the Space Needle, like the Space Needle was on fire," he said. "I knew it was something serious."
He walked closer to find out what had happened and was overwhelmed by the smell of burning rubber.
"You almost had to cover your face," he said. "There was helicopter debris everywhere."
Eric Lundberg of Graham, Wash., was working on a construction site across the street from the crash scene when the helicopter went down. He described a panicked scene.
“I was on the sixth floor, and I heard the crash. I ran to the window, saw flames go up and people scatter. People at the job site next door were running to the evacuation site,” Lundberg said. “The flames go up, and people run for their lives.”
Witnesses said police arrived quickly, within perhaps 90 seconds.
@Deb_Slater via TwitterTwitter user @Deb_Slater captured this image of a news helicopter that crashed in downtown Seattle Tuesday morning, killing at least two people and injuring one, officials said.
Reporting from the scene, Greg Copeland of KING said officials had dumped a large amount of sand on the ground to soak up fuel from the crashed aircraft. The Seattle Police Department warned residents to say away from the area, tweeting that the investigation "will continue for many hours."
Out of an abundance of caution, CBS affiliate KIRO grounded its news chopper.
The Space Needle and its restaurant, SkyCity, closed for the rest of the day.
"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred near the Space Needle today," read a message on the Space Needle's Facebook page. "Our condolences go out to KOMO News, our community and those affected by this event."
First published March 18 2014, 8:06 AM
0 comments:
Post a Comment