6ABC helicopter crash: National Transportation Safety Board reveals new information in final press conference
SHAMONG TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- National Transportation Safety Board officials gave an update on their investigation Friday afternoon into what led to 6ABC's helicopter crashing Tuesday night.
They revealed new information about the chopper's speed and what parts of the helicopter they've been able to recover.
The NTSB started moving pieces of the helicopter out of the woods and started the process of taking the wreckage to a secure location.
CBS Philadelphia also learned that the debris field has doubled in size. Investigators originally thought it was the size of a football field but they said after walking the path, it's about 200 yards in size.
"The aircraft hit at a very high speed and after striking the trees it fragmented," NTSB investigator Todd Gunther said.
The NTSB provided new details after its team of specialists carefully examined the wreckage of the 6ABC chopper and surveyed a debris field the size of two football fields inside the Wharton State Forest.
"We confirmed we have all four corners of the helicopter," Gunther said. "That means we have the nose, we have the tail and we have both sides."
New pictures released by the NTSB show the extensive damage, parts of the helicopter broken apart, and what looks to be the control panel on the ground where the chopper crashed and caught fire.
"All four rotor blades and both tail rotor blades are there also," Gunther said.
The NTSB said Chopper 6 appeared to be on course as the crew was returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore and heading to the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. But flight tracker data shows it started losing altitude around 8 p.m. and went down in a remote area of the forest in Washington Township, Burlington County.
The NTSB's job is to figure out what went wrong.
Both men on board, the pilot 67-year-old Monroe Smith and photographer 45-year-old Christopher Dougherty died in the crash.
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The NTSB is now looking at the helicopter's maintenance records and flight data, the pilot's background and the weather conditions at the time of the crash.
"We looked at the engine and the engine displays what we call power signatures, which indicates it was under power during the impact sequence," Gunther said.
The NTSB also said the transmission was also functional.
CBS Philadelphia was told investigators are ruling things out of what went right to help determine what went wrong.
New Jersey State Park Police said all the wreckage will be moved Friday.
A preliminary report is expected in about 10-15 days. A final report detailing the cause of the crash could take about 18 months.
CBS Philadelphia extends our condolences to our fellow journalists and staff at 6ABC.
