OWENTON, Ky. — A senior investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board says his team is looking into how the cables connected to a large communication tower in Owen County may have contributed to a deadly medical helicopter crash late Monday afternoon.
“Pieces were seen separated from the helicopter, and the helicopter – the body, the fuselage – descended… fell basically vertically from that point,” Brian Rayner with the NTSB told reporters on Tuesday, shortly after arriving on scene and gathering preliminary details.
Authorities showed WHAS11 into the wooded area of Owenton where the broken fuselage of the medical chopper laid on the grass. Rayner said they’ve located broken parts of the rotors a couple hundred yards away.
The NTSB confirmed the helicopter was in the process of landing to pick up a patient in emergency. Officials didn’t confirm whether a nearby school football field was the landing zone, but did suggest the chopper was supposed to land somewhere in that area.
“I don’t know if it was in the athletic field or adjacent to it. I haven’t been over there yet. I still need to go over there after we’re done talking,” Rayner said.
All three crew members on board -- the pilot, a medic and a nurse -- were all killed. Authorities identified the victims as Air Evac Lifeteam members Gale Alleman, Bethany Aicken and James Welsh.
“I have never responded to an event like this in my career,” KSP Trooper Chad Johnson said. “This is an impact that’ll be felt throughout the community.”
According to a preliminary report from the FAA, the helicopter struck a guy-wire, one of the large cables supporting the KET transmitter in Owenton – with the aircraft then crashing and going up in flames. Rayner said these cables are 1 ½ inches in diameter, but strong.
“It’s a significant hazard. It’s a known hazard,” he said.
The scene and investigation is still active a day later, with authorities setting up a large perimeter not far from the nearby elementary school.
Rayner said weather and wind were not issues. He also said the pilot has more than a decade’s worth of experience flying in these scenarios, including landing in Owen County before. The NTSB is also looking into where the sun was on the horizon.
The NTSB says it’ll stay on scene for days, with the goal to remove pieces of the helicopter by Wednesday’s end.
Mayra Garcia, an employee of the restaurant called Amigo near the crash site, spoke to WHAS 11 on their patio -- where several customers were eating last night when they saw and heard it all happen.
“It’s not easy,” she said. “Everyone was scared. I was scared too. We saw a lot of smoke.”
We talked to one customer off camera who was there during the incident, telling us the chopper crashed some 150-200 feet in front of them. It knocked out power at the restaurant for hours.
The Kentucky State Police is handling the death investigation. The NTSB is examining the aircraft, trying to pinpoint exactly what went wrong.
The medical crew was based out of Grant County – about a half hour from Owen County – where they took off from.
The wife of James Welsh, the paramedic on board who was killed, is pregnant with their child. There is a GoFundMe set up that’s already raised more than $30,000. If you’d like to contribute to help the family, click here.
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