Federal Authorities Probing Ohio Helicopter Crash, 2 Killed

STONY RIDGE, Ohio (AP) —
Police and emergency crews respond to a fatal helicopter crash in a field near State Rte. 163 and Pemberville Road in Troy Township, Wood County, Ohio. (Amy E. Voigt /The Blade via AP)

Federal investigators will try to determine what caused the fatal crash of a helicopter in which 2 men died on Monday. FirstEnergy said they were contractors doing transmission line inspection work in northwest Ohio.

The Wood County sheriff’s office has identified the pilot as 32-year-old Tyson Snyder of Wooster, Ohio, and his passenger as 62-year-old Jeffrey Fluharty of Fairmont, West Virginia.

The sheriff’s office said a 911 caller reported at 11:41 a.m. that the helicopter went down suddenly, into a snowy farm field. Both men were dead at the scene. Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said there was no sign of fire and no indication that the aircraft hit utility lines.

Authorities said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

“They will take it into a building somewhere and completely dissect it and try to find out if it was human error or mechanical failure,” a representative told WTOL. “But it will be many months before we know the actual cause of the crash.”

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