West Virginia helicopter crash: 6 dead after helicopter crashes onto road near Route 17 in Logan County

The Bell UH-1B helicopter crashed around 5 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The chopper, known as a Huey, crashed on a rural roadway, Logan County Office of Emergency Management Deputy Director Sonya Porter told CNN.

The Vietnam War-era helicopter was based out of the Logan County airport and was used to give tourist flights, Ray Bryant, Logan Emergency Management Authority chief of operations, told CNN affiliate WSAZ.

When fire crews arrived on the scene, they found the helicopter had erupted in flames and put the fire out, Bryant said.

Bobbi Childs, who lives about a mile from the site of the crash, called 911 and rushed to the scene when she saw the helicopter begin to careen out of control, she told CNN affiliate WSAZ. When she got there, she saw at least one person was trapped in the helicopter, which had erupted in flames, she said.

“I ran as fast as I could go and I went under the guardrail and I went up to the helicopter,” she told WSAZ. “But the fire was just so hot, so intense, and that guy didn’t make it out of there.”

After the crash, one of the owners showed up to the scene, Bryant told WSAZ, though he did not name the owner.

In a tweet Wednesday night, Gov. Jim Justice said: “Cathy and I are praying for the families of those killed in this tragic helicopter crash.”

Logan County is located near the border with Kentucky.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the FAA said.



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