Witness describes Chopper 6 as ‘orange ball’ just before fatal crash

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A witness to the crash of a TV news helicopter in South Jersey last month reported seeing "a giant orange ball" falling from the night sky into a forest, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Another onlooker "observed a solid light traveling quickly at a steep angle" before the crash of Action News helicopter Chopper 6 shortly after 8 p.m. on Dec. 19, the report says.

The six-page report does not address a possible cause for the accident, which killed two men aboard the aircraft.

"No anomalies of the engine were discovered that would have precluded normal operation," it says.

But it notes Chopper 6 was plunging downward at more than 130 mph before it hit the ground and created a wreckage path about 600 feet long.

"Several trees were observed with smooth cuts consistent with main rotor blade strikes in a long shallow descending path through the woods to the main ground impact area," it notes.

The report, released on Wednesday, Jan. 17, also provides a timeline for the tragedy.

It notes the helicopter left Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 7:23 p.m. for a 20-minute flight to the area of Smithville, Atlantic County.

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It circled the area for about 10 minutes, collecting video for Action News. It began a return flight after being cleared by the station's assignment desk.

"This was the third flight of the day for the helicopter and crew, and the helicopter had been refueled prior to the accident flight," says the report.

A sign of concern came around 10 p.m.

A news desk staffer called US Helicopters, a North Carolina firm that owned the leased aircraft, saying they "had tried to reach the crew for another assignment but were unable to contact them by telephone," says the report.

"After confirming the helicopter had not returned to (Northeast Philadelphia), actions were taken to obtain last location information and the time frame of the last contact," it continues.

A review found the helicopter had started its return flight at an altitude of about 1,000 feet, but went below 775 feet at 8:01:54.

It passed beneath 700 feet about 20 seconds later, when its groundspeed was increasing through 107 mph.

The helicopter went below 400 feet, with a ground speed of about 118 mph at 8:03:18.

Seven seconds later, it was traveling about 123 mph and had gone below 250 feet.

The helicopter's final position was recorded at 8:03:37, when it was traveling at 115 knots, or about 133 mph.

The report does not give an altitude for that time.

The review showed the helicopter's last location was about four nautical miles east/northeast of Hammonton Municipal Airport.

The American Eurocopter aircraft was found around 12:05 a.m. in the densely wooded Wharton State Forest in Washington Township, Burlington County.The crash killed the pilot, 67-year-old Monroe Smith, and a photographer, 45-year-old Christopher W. Dougherty. Both were residents of Montgomery County.

The helicopter's instrument panel was heavily damaged, while the rest of the cockpit/cabin area was destroyed, says the report.

Most of the helicopter "was heavily impacted, fragmented and had been consumed by a post-impact fire except for portions of the tail boom, doors, and small pieces that had separated from the helicopter in the area of the initial impact," it adds.

An ongoing NTSB investigation, expected to determine the accident's cause, could take from one to three years, the agency says.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: What NTSB says about fatal Chopper 6 crash that killed ABC journalists