6 People Killed in Helicopter Crash in West Virginia Mountains

Six individuals had been killed, the authorities stated, when a helicopter being flown throughout a reunion for fans of historic plane crashed on Wednesday night in Logan County, W.Va.

The helicopter got here down on Route 17 close to Blair Mountain, stated Sonya Porter, the deputy director of the Logan County Workplace of Emergency Administration. The mountainous space within the southern a part of the state is called Kelly Hole.

Ms. Porter was undecided what may need brought on the crash.

“On the time the crash occurred, I feel the climate was clear,” she stated.

The plane was a Bell UH-1B helicopter manufactured in 1962, in line with the Federal Aviation Administration. Ray Bryant, who was on the scene of the crash and is the chief of operations for the Logan Emergency Ambulance Service Authority, stated its tail quantity was N98F.

The N98F helicopter is owned by Marpat Aviation, which was holding an annual reunion this week for “Huey” helicopters, a nickname for the plane. Its web site stated individuals may make a reservation to fly the helicopter with out being a pilot.

Flying the helicopter for half-hour required a $250 donation to pay for gasoline, in line with the web site, whereas others may experience alongside by making a small donation. The helicopter that crashed had been used throughout the Vietnam Warfare and seems in motion pictures together with “Die Laborious,” “The Rock” and “Baywatch.”

Mike Holbrook, the proprietor and operator of Marpat Aviation, didn’t return a name requesting remark. Two individuals who answered cellphone numbers linked with the corporate hung up on a reporter.

The helicopter, which had taken off from Logan County Airport, crashed into the roadway and guardrail of a rural two-lane highway, Mr. Bryant stated. He stated that the helicopter was nonetheless on hearth when he arrived, and that in his 35 years with the county’s emergency companies, he had seen “no crashes of this magnitude.”

One girl stated she ran as rapidly as potential to the scene after the crash, ducking underneath the guardrail. “I went as much as the helicopter, however the hearth was simply so scorching, so intense,” the lady, Bobbi Childs, advised WSAZ-3, a tv station in Huntington.

The F.A.A. and the Nationwide Transportation Security Board will examine the crash. The victims’ names haven’t been publicly launched.