The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a report detailing some of their findings in the aftermath of the East End helicopter crash that killed a pilot and three passengers earlier this month.
The five-page report gives information on the exchange between Samantha Grandbouche, the tour helicopter’s pilot, and the local air traffic control communicators just prior to the wreck.
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After establishing radio contact with the air traffic controller, Grandbouche requested a “downtown loop” route. After several minutes, the controller issued a traffic advisory for another tour helicopter nearby. Grandbouche acknowledged the other helicopter.
The controller then requested that Grandbouche’s helicopter maintain “visual separation” from the other chopper.
As she was reading this message, the pilot’s radio transmission abruptly ended.
No further communication from the helicopter was received.
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The report also detailed surveillance footage that showed the helicopter’s collision with the radio tower.
The footage showed the tower’s top and middle light beacons flashing as the helicopter approached, but the bottom beacon was not visible for an undisclosed reason.
The review also reported that the owner of the radio tower said a Notice of Air Missions (NOTAM) report was issued recently due to a change in ownership, and no outages were reported for any of the beacons.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE: