Six people died Wednesday in the crash of an old helicopter used for tourist flights, the state of West Virginia, authorities said Thursday.
The Vietnam War-era helicopter crashed in a rural area near a road. A joint investigation with the US transport security agency, the NTSB, and the US civil aviation regulator (FAA) will be launched.
The chief of operations for the Logan County emergency management office, where the accident occurred, confirmed to the media the death of the six people who were on board the aircraft. The cause of the accident is not known at this time.
The helicopter, based at a nearby airport and used for sightseeing flights, was ablaze when rescuers arrived, the same source added. Nicknamed the “Huey”, the Bell UH-1B type helicopter was developed in the 1950s and used extensively by the US military during the Vietnam War.
.
