News Helicopter Crashes in Seattle

[TenEightyOne]

Link

Two people were killed when a news helicopter crashed in central Seattle at the foot of the landmark Space Needle, fire officials have said.

A third person has been taken to hospital in critical condition, the Seattle Fire Department said.

The helicopter belonged to broadcaster KOMO, which says it was trying to take off when it crashed.

It said the helicopter hit the side of the building and then went down, hitting several vehicles.

Television footage from the scene shows a destroyed car burning alongside the helicopter wreckage on a Seattle street.

People in the area reported seeing a huge cloud of smoke near the Space Needle as firefighters and police responded to the area.

The man who was brought to hospital was in one of the cars, but managed to pull himself out, fire officials said.

A witness told KOMO the engine of the helicopter "sounded extra heavy" as it started up and he heard an explosion seconds later.

Police have told Seattle drivers to stay out of the city centre.

Sounds pretty bad

EDIT: Link at CNN

Quote says "hit the side of the building", does that mean it hit the Space Needle itself?

 

[Dotini]

Link



Sounds pretty bad

EDIT: Link at CNN

Quote says "hit the side of the building", does that mean it hit the Space Needle itself?

I was watching KOMO News Channel 4 in my dentist's office when the KOMO news chopper went down at 4th and Broad just a few blocks away. From the windows, I and the office staff saw a huge plume of black smoke rising from the crash scene. On TV, we saw fire totally consuming the chopper and with at least 2 cars partially involved in flames. A motionless civilian body was seen in the foreground of the street scene, with the head area partially covered.

Local news reports pilot and passenger of the chopper deceased at the scene, another victim with burns over 50% of the body, and several other injured.

The iconic Seattle Space Needle nearby did not appear to be involved, nor the Experience Music Project "crashed UFO" rock'n'roll museum. the crash appeared confined to the intersection, although an overhead construction crane may be part of the cause.

The chopper was said to be rising from its pad on the KOMO building at 7:40 am when the accident occurred. Curiously, live Channel 4 news reporter said their chopper was already in use that morning in the south county.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Nasty stuff, glad to hear that you're okay!

From what I saw the guy with burns had managed to get himself out of his car, that sounds pretty horrific.

Maybe the chopper had returned to base for a crew change or something? What was the weather like in the area?

 

[Dotini]

Nasty stuff, glad to hear that you're okay!

From what I saw the guy with burns had managed to get himself out of his car, that sounds pretty horrific.

Maybe the chopper had returned to base for a crew change or something? What was the weather like in the area?

The weather was generally cloudy with scattered showers. In the vicinity it was dry with the ceiling over 1000'.

It's possible they hit a tree.

There was a pitch problem on the take-off, according to a witness. They pitched right into oncoming traffic! OMFG

Again, it was said they took off immediately after landing. Something not right with that.

 

[Dotini]

The Aerospatiale crashed directly on top of a red Pontiac Vibe. After 4-5 minutes, a 38 year old man staggered, burning in flames, from the Vibe, bleeding profusely from the head. He fell in a blazing heap and was almost immediately attended to by police officer arriving at the scene.

 

[gtavcfan]

I remember hearing about it on the news, as I only watch KOMO myself. I was moving stuff from my current room to my new room. Made me kind of sad, and the depressive feeling came back as my grandma had just passed away a week before the tragic accident. I left my own condolences on the article.