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

It’s not yet clear what caused a TV news helicopter to go down Tuesday night in a heavily wooded forest in South Jersey, but the flight path and tracking data will help federal agencies investigate the fatal crash.

The accident killed two men working for Action News, the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia.

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

The pilot, Monroe Smith, was 67. The Glenside man held a commercial pilot license and was re-issued his class two medical certificate in July. The other man was identified as Christopher W. Dougherty, 45, of Oreland, Pennsylvania.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are handling the crash investigation. Their investigation will span months with a final report likely not made public for a year or more.

But, publicly available flight tracking reveals some details about the fated 40-minute flight.

What we know so far: Channel 6 Action News helicopter crash in Burlington County kills pilot, photographer

Crash site: What to know about South Jersey's Wharton State Forest, site of the ABC6 helicopter crash

Where was the Channel 6 chopper going?

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.

The chopper made several loops around the area of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway, just northeast of the Atlantic City International Airport around 8 p.m.

How it happened: Timeline of Chopper 6 crash that killed pilot and photographer in Wharton State Forest

The chopper then returned on the same flight path back toward Philadelphia before crashing.

Much of the flight appears normal, as the tech-heavy chopper made its way across the Delaware River and into New Jersey within three minutes of take-off.

The pilot took the craft to roughly 1,200 feet in altitude and about 145 mph in a straight path southeast through South Jersey for about 20 minutes, passing Atlantic City International Airport to the southwest.

Where did the 6ABC helicopter crash?

The chopper descended to 700 feet and just 40 mph in the area of the refuge around 7:45 p.m., about 23 minutes into the flight.

It stayed in that general area for a few more minutes, lifting to about 1,000 feet and close to 100 mph before making three tight loops at 800 feet in altitude just before 8 p.m.

It's not known if the pilot was experiencing trouble with the helicopter or why they made circles in the air here.

After the third loop, it continued northwest, reversing the flight path it took in to the area, flying at just under 1,000 feet.

Flight tracking then shows the chopper descending to 600 feet, then 400 feet just after 8 p.m. The last data captured shows the chopper at just 200 feet and 119 mph before crashing.

The wreckage was found in the area of Quaker Bridge Atsion and Middle roads in Washington Township.

Did weather play a factor in news chopper crash?

The South Jersey region was whipped with rain and wind earlier in the week, but it's not clear if weather conditions impacted the chopper's flight.

Ray Martin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said conditions were calm with no significant cloud cover. The winds were between 5 and 10 mph and temperatures were just above freezing, he said.

"Overall very tranquil conditions, with no visibility issues."

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: What flight path reveals about fatal 6ABC Action News helicopter crash