KOMO News Helicopter Crash Leaves Two Dead


Two people were killed and one was seriously injured when the KOMO News helicopter came crashing down Tuesday morning near the Seattle Space Needle.

According to KOMO News, the helicopter had exploded into a fireball on impact. Huge flames and thick black smoke reportedly poured from the blazing wreckage of the helicopter. “Fuel gushing from the wreckage caught fire and burned for a block from the crash scene. Secondary explosions continued for several minutes afterward.”

Two people were killed as a result of the KOMO news helicopter crash and another individual was seriously injured. According to CNN, the 2003 Eurocopter AS350 was owned and operated by Helicopters Inc., and was being leased by KOMO at the time of the crash.

The two men who died in the crash have been identified as KOMO News photographer Bill Strothman and pilot Gary Pfitzner. When the helicopter went down, it reportedly crashed into a number of cars, three of which burst into flames. Witnesses told reporters they saw one man emerge from one of those three vehicles.

Daniel Alejandro Gonzalez told CNN that the man emerged from his car with “his shirt… in flames, his head…. bleeding.” He continued on to say that the man “walked about 20 feet and he collapsed.” The man has yet to be identified, though reports state that he is in his late 30s and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body.

CNN reported that hospital spokeswoman, Susan Gregg, said doctors at the level-one trauma center had sedated the man, put him on a ventilator and were administering fluids. “They were still trying to determine the extent and severity of the burns,” she added.

Witnesses say that the crash was a terrible sight. KOMO News reported that a National Transportation Safety Board official, Dennis Hogenson, said the chopper rotated in a counterclockwise direction, then plummeted to the pavement below. Many eyewitnesses spoke up about what they saw.

“It looked like the helicopter was trying to take off, and it just was trying to stabilize and it looked odd… and it just took a nose dive right down there on the street,” said one eyewitness. “And the scary thing about it was the gas from the helicopter started leaking and it caught a car or two on fire – so it’s crazy.”

Fire department spokesman Kyle Moore told reporters that there was nothing left of the KOMO News helicopter after the flames were finally extinguished. “What we have left is basically just a part of the tail and burnt-out metal from the main chassis of the helicopter,” Moore said.

Many are grieving the loss of Strothman and Pfitzner. Janene Drafs, General Manager of KOMO, released a statement which read “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. The pilot and the photographer who lost their lives were like family to us, here at the station. We are grieving for them, their families and the on-ground victims who were injured in this horrific event.”

The investigation into the KOMO News helicopter crash is still ongoing at this time. Check back with The Inquisitr as more information becomes available.

[Image via WPEC CBS 12 News Twitter Feed]

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