PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) – The Latest on the crash of a sightseeing helicopter near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee (all times local):
3:20 p.m.
Investigators are combing through the wreckage of a sightseeing helicopter that crashed and burned near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, but they say it’s too early to tell what caused it to go down.
Luke Schiada, senior investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, says there’s evidence that the Bell 206 helicopter made contact with the top of a ridge on the side of a mountain when it crashed Monday afternoon, killing five people. Officials said the tourist helicopter was destroyed by fire afterward.
Schiada says the tour route that the helicopter was on indicated it was to be a 12-minute flight. He adds the NTSB will be reviewing how the helicopter was loaded, the aircraft’s maintenance records, the pilot’s background and the wind conditions at the time.