NTSB final report cites engine fire in 2023 BSO helicopter crash that killed two
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the Broward Sheriff's Office helicopter crash in Pompano Beach two years ago that killed two people.
The report concludes that "an inflight fire outside of the engine firewalls, likely from overheating of the No. 1 engine for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a partial tailboom separation."
Investigators wrote that "the only plausible explanations the investigation could determine for only the No. 1 engine to overheat were foreign object debris, blockage of the No. 1 engine air inlet, or hot gas or combustible fluid ingestion."
Video shows dramatic crash
Cellphone video captured black smoke trailing from the helicopter just before the crash.
The footage shows the aircraft losing part of its tail, spinning out of control and striking the roof of a home, sparking a massive fire.
Apartment resident Lurean Wheaton was inside when the helicopter fell onto her home. She did not survive.
On board, two people survived the crash, but one was killed: Terryson Jackson, a 19-year veteran of Broward Fire Rescue.