Feds detail final moments of helicopter that crashed, killing 3 people in Middle Georgia
The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday issued its preliminary report on a mid-September helicopter crash that killed all three people on board in Jasper County, but aside from a mention of “heavy rain” at the time of the wreck there is no word on what caused the crash.
The Robinson R66 chopper went down in dense forest a dozen or so miles south of Monticello on the night of Sept. 15.
The NTSB’s report said the chartered aircraft had left the Atlanta area that morning on a trip for the passenger on board to “look at properties” in south Georgia and north Florida.
The report said the chopper headed back north that evening, refueling in Thomasville. As the helicopter approached Perry, heavy rain was passing through the region. About 7:30 p.m., the passenger, who was not named in the report, texted a family member, writing, “Bad storm pop up had to land in field. It’s blowing over now.”
It was unclear where the landing happened, but shortly after 8 p.m. the chopper touched down and stopped briefly at the Perry-Houston County Airport near Interstate 75. It continued its trip on north of Macon and at 8:43 p.m., as it passed near Juliette and the Ocmulge River the chopper “made a series of shallow left and right (course) changes before entering a rapid descending right turn,” the report said.
The report noted “heavy rain” at the time but doesn’t cite that as a factor in the crash.
The helicopter was said to have struck treetops before slamming into the forest floor and leaving a crater 2 feet deep and 6 feet wide. The report said the aircraft’s cabin and cockpit were “severely damaged by impact forces and post-crash fire.”
The four-page write-up said there was no evidence of pre-crash failures or malfuntioning control systems.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 5:12 PM.