Saturday, October 01, 2011

Helicopter crashes at Jefferson City Memorial Airport (KJEF) Jefferson City, Missouri

Authorities are investigating the cause for a helicopter crash at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport, Saturday afternoon.

The crash occurred just before 2 p.m.

The aircraft reportedly got up about 20 feet in the air before coming down on one of the runways.

Reports from the Jefferson City Fire Department indicate this was a military helicopter that was on it's way to San Diego and had stopped to refuel in Jefferson City. They said this was a Navy Seahawk that only had been in service for about 20 hours.

Witnesses told reporters that the helicopter had taken off with no problem , but shortly afterwards the rear rotor appeared to have malfunctioned, causing the chopper to come back down onto the runway. The rear section of the helicopter appeared to have the brunt of the damage.

The chopper was not part of an airshow that was taking place Saturday afternoon at the airport.

One of the three personnel who were in the helicopter at the time of the crash was transported to a local hospital. The extent of this person's injuries was not known. It was believed this person was riding in the rear of the helicopter which is where most of the damage occurred.

Another crew member also was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor cuts and scrapes while the third crew member stayed behind at the airport.

Air traffic into the airport was shut down for about two hours.

The FAA has been notified and will have investigators coming to Jefferson City to look into what caused the crash.

The helicopter was to be left in it’s crash position and will not be removed until the investigators are through looking at it.

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