6 Dead in Helicopter Crash in West Virginia; Aviation Authorities Investigating the Cause

Reports suggests that the aircraft was mostly being used for tourism purposes and the passengers on board were not locals.

A helicopter crash in West Virginia has killed six people. Flying from Logan county airport, the aircraft was being utilized for tourism purposes.

As per Ray Bryant, the Chief of Operations for the Logan Emergency Management Authority, the crash happened on Kelly Mountain, in Logan County, located near the busy Route 17 motorway.

Local reports state that there were six passengers on board and all of them died, the Mirror reported.

West Virginia Helicopter Crash
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According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the helicopter, nicknamed Huey was a Bell UH-1B model military aircraft, that was also used in the Vietnam war.

Bryant explained that the aircraft was on fire when the emergency services with one of the owners of the helicopter, reached the site of the crash on Route 17. Any official release on the identity of the victims has not been made yet although the Emergency Management Authority believes that they were not locals.

"Everybody's sadden that this has occurred in our county, and they're distraught over the incident," said Sonya Porter, the deputy director of the Logan County Office of Emergency Management, reported WVMetroNews.

Helicopter Missing
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The Logan Management Authority along with the Federal Aviation is investigating the reason behind the accident.

The US National Transport Safety Board has confirmed that 5 investigators with a family assistance specialist will be dispatched at to the site in order to determine the circumstances of the crash.

The authorities have currently blocked off Route 17 highway from about a mile from the site for the next 24 hours and have advised the residents to steer clear from the area.

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