Copter crash victim told son of ‘foul weather’
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Copter crash victim told son of ‘foul weather’
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11:45AM Saturday Jul 25, 2009
UNITED STATES – One of four people killed when a helicopter crashed on a Maryland highway told his son he was delaying his flight home because of foul weather.
The four – three flight company employees and a friend who had accompanied them – were returning from an event that offered helicopter rides to raise money for troubled youth when the helicopter crashed on Interstate 70 and burst into flames around 2:30 p.m. yesterday (NZT). No one on the ground was hurt.
One victim, Niall Booth, 43, told his son beforehand that he was waiting to fly back to Frederick because of foul weather. Visibility was somewhat hampered by fog, but authorities could not say if weather contributed to the crash. Storms had passed through the area earlier.
“He said they were going to wait and wouldn’t leave unless the storm was over. That was the last thing I heard,” Haydn Booth said. “I said it was a good idea and said goodbye.”
Investigators do not yet know the cause of the crash, said Kitty Higgins, a National Transportation Safety Board member.
Witnesses reported seeing the craft flying low when it hit power lines over the interstate, then saw sparks fly before it went down. There was no flight plan and no contact with air traffic controllers because the tower was closed. The helicopter was making the 25-mile flight from Hagerstown to Frederick.
Maryland State Police tentatively identified those on board as Booth; Jeffrey Nordaas, 24, of Columbia, Md.; George Tutor, 39, of Westminster, Md.; and Kim Felix, 48, of New Market, Md.
Nordaas was the pilot, according to Federal Aviation Administration registry records that matched certification information the NTSB provided at a news conference.
Nordaas, Booth and Tutor worked for Frederick, Md.-based Advanced Helicopter Concepts. Felix, the lone female passenger, was a friend who had flown with them to Hagerstown for a meeting of the Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation.
The pilot, who had about 630 hours of flight experience, waited two hours after Thursday’s event to return to Frederick because of the weather, Higgins said.
Gary Smith, an instructor for Advanced Helicopter Concepts, said Friday morning that the company had suffered a “huge loss.”
The company, based at Frederick Municipal Airport, trains pilots, takes photographers on aerial tours and fixes and sells helicopters, according to its website.
Booth, who was married with two children and also lived in New Market, joined the firm a few months ago, Haydn Booth said. He said his father was the planning director for a foundation venture called Heli Flights for Hope, which was raising money for at-risk youth.