What we know about Chopper 6, the Action News helicopter that crashed in South Jersey

The 6ABC helicopter involved in the fatal crash over Wharton State Forest on Tuesday night was leased from a North Carolina company that specializes in providing helicopters for news outlets.

Based in Marshville, North Carolina, U.S. Helicopters, Inc.’s website says it is the “premier provider of full service, exclusive use Electronic News Gathering (ENG) helicopter programs in the United States."

The 6ABC copter, Chopper 6, was on its way back from coverage at the Jersey Shore when it went down in Washington Township, New Jersey, Burlington County.

New Jersey State Park Police on Wednesday evening identified the men as Montgomery County, Pennsylvania residents.

Pilot Monroe Smith was 67, of Glenside and photographer Christopher W. Dougherty, 45, was from Oreland.

Smith was last issued his class two medical certificate in July.

The pilot was licensed in 2010 to fly helicopters for commercial purposes and was instrumented rated. He also held a private pilot license for fixed-wing aircraft, FAA records show.

It’s traditional for television news stations to use helicopters for their coverage. Chopper 6 was a 2013 American Eurocopter AS-350-A-STAR, 6ABC says.

A picture of a 6ABC helicopter is featured on U.S. Helicopters Inc.'s website, along with multiple photos of other news helicopters.

“6ABC leases Chopper 6 from U.S. Helicopters Inc., in North Carolina,” Action News reporter Katherine Scott said in a broadcast on Wednesday. “They have a long history with our station and have been working as part of the Action News team for years. We do know U.S Helicopters has been in touch with their families. You see us and hear us talk about Chopper 6 all of the time. It’s always all over the area. Those who fly it are crucial parts of our news gathering operation.

“You see beauty shots for us in the morning, they look at the traffic backups, they get to areas that are hard to access from the ground and they give us this vital information that we give to you at home.”

According to tracking data from Flight Aware, the American Eurocopter AS-350-A-STAR left the Northeast Philadelphia Airport about 7:23 p.m. and headed southeast toward the Jersey shore.

U.S. Helicopters, Inc. company has been in business for over 35 years, the website says, and “the company has built an exemplary reputation as a leading operator of news gathering helicopters. It says it has a large number of aircraft operating in various cities across the nation.”

Its website says the AS350 Astar family of helicopters "outclasses all other single-engine helicopters for performance versatility, low maintenance, and low acquisition costs, while excelling in high and hot extreme environments. It is a member of Airbus' Ecureuil family, which has accumulated almost 36 million flight hours worldwide."

It says Astar provides a longer time on scene and can get you there faster than any other helicopter in its class. It is made in the USA, built in Columbus, Mississippi, it said, and supported in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The company says Astar boasts the widest cabin in its class, “offering the very best platform for Airborne Media and Electronic News Gathering.”

A standard AS350 weighs about 2,800 pounds and can cost upward of $1 million.

Chopper 6 was deemed airworthy in July 2013 and its certificate was issued two months later.

The chopper was returning on the same flight path back toward Philadelphia before going down.

Chopper 6 crash: Channel 6 Action News helicopter crash in Burlington County kills pilot, photographer

Flight path: Where was the 6ABC chopper headed when it crashed? What the flight path reveals

Fatal helicopter crash: Timeline of Chopper 6 crash that killed pilot and photographer in Wharton State Forest

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Chopper 6 was leased from a North Carolina company before fatal crash