No distress calls before Maryland airplane-helicopter collision

By John Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small airplane and helicopter made no distress calls before they collided near a Maryland airport killing all three aboard the helicopter and injuring the two men on the plane, federal investigators said on Friday. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board examined the wreckage of the plane and helicopter and recovered data on the airplane's speed, altitude and pitch at the time of the collision near a municipal airport on Thursday afternoon. "Right now it's a confusing blend of dots," that need to be connected, NTSB investigator Brian Rayner told a news conference. "It's a terrible, terrible tragedy and we're here to prevent it from happening in the future." Investigators also reviewed state police interviews, witness accounts, air traffic control audio tapes and radar, and aircraft maintenance records. The airplane, a Cirrus SR22, was approaching Frederick Municipal Airport when it collided with a Robinson R44 helicopter that was involved in a training exercise, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Rescue crews found the wreckage within a half-mile of the airport, which is about 40 miles northwest of Washington. The airplane was suspended vertically in a small strip of trees with its parachute deployed, Maryland State Police said. The Cirrus private airplane was equipped with a parachute system that can be used in an emergency situation to slow the descent of the plane, minimize damage and assist in a safe landing, Rayner said. "I think that's what occurred here," Rayner said. All three men in the helicopter died: the pilot, Christopher Parsons, 29, Breandan MacFawn, 35, of Maryland, and William Jenkins, 47, of Colorado, state police said. The two men aboard the airplane were taken to a local hospital and later released, pilot Scott Graeves, 55, and passenger Gilbert Porter, 75, state police said. Investigators plan to move the aircraft wreckage to a secure location in a storage facility on Saturday, the NTSB said. The investigation could take up to a year. (Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by David Bailey and Sandra Maler)