Two people killed, one injured in flamy news helicopter crash near Seattle’s Space Needle
By Daily Mail Reporter 15:Ten BST eighteen Mar 2014, updated 22:14 BST eighteen Mar two thousand fourteen
- KOMO News/King five news helicopter went down at 7.40am PT on Broad Street in Seattle after allegedly hitting the side of the building housing the news station
- Victims identified as cameraman Bill Strothman, 62, and pilot Gary Pfitzner, 59
- Motorist Richard Newman, 38, suffered burns to twenty per cent of his bod when his car was struck by falling copter
- Injured victim was able to climb out of his searing car and was seen running with his sleeve on fire
- Eyewitness suggested the helicopter may have gotten entangled in cables before taking a nose dive to the street
A news helicopter for KOMO-TV has crashed outside its station near the Seattle Space Needle, killing a veteran photojournalist and a pilot, and leaving another man with severe burns.
The station headquartered at Fisher Plaza says the aircraft was evidently taking off a rooftop helipad Tuesday morning when it possibly hit the side of the building and went down, hitting several vehicles on Broad Street.
The chopper and cars exploded in flames and casualties were reported.
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According to the Seattle Fire Department, the two people killed in the crash were inwards the aircraft. Tuesday afternoon, KOMO identified one of the casualties as 62-year-old Bill Strothman, an Emmy-winning former station photographer who worked as a contractor for KOMO.
The 2nd victim was identified as pilot Gary Pfitzner, 59.
Soon after the names of the two victims were made public, tributes began pouring in on Twitter, with Strothman’s colleagues sharing their memories of the veteran videographer.
‘So many fond memories Bill Strothman. So many adventures.Our hearts break more than words can express,’ tweeted anchor and producer Jenni Hogan.
Tuesday afternoon, Strothman’s family released a statement asking the public to respect their privacy.
‘Our family is grief-stricken and in shock in the wake of the horrible tragedy that claimed the lives of Bill Strothman and Gary Pfitzner this morning. Bill was a good man, a kind soul, a faithful spouse, a loving father and brother,’ the statement read.
‘He was a friend to everyone who knew him. Bill was a talented photographer who was a beloved part of the KOMO family for more than thirty years.’
A 38-year-old man who was in one of the vehicles struck by the plummeting helicopter was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition with burns to twenty per cent of his assets, KOMO News reported.
The victim, later identified as Richard Newman, of Seattle, was able to crawl out of his searing vehicle and was seen running with one of his sleeves on fire.
Newman’s condition has since been upgraded to serious. He sustained second- and third-degree burns to his lower back and arm, as well as cuts on his head and a violated rib. He is expected to go through surgery at a later time, the Bellingham Herald reported.
Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the facility had received no other victims from the crash.
During a press conference held this afternoon, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said that in response to the crash, the city will review its policies about permitting helicopter pads.
He noted the normally bustling Seattle Center wasn’t very busy at the time of the wreck on Broad Street. Had it been a busier day, ‘this would have been a much larger tragedy,’ Murray said.
People in the area reported eyeing a fat cloud of smoke as firefighters and police responded. Alex McBurney, a producer at KIRO-TV in Seattle, collective a movie demonstrating the flamy aftermath of the tragedy on YouTube.
According to Seattle Post Intelligencer, Strothman was a 30-year veteran in the field of videography, who also attempted his palm in documentary, corporate and non-for-profit production.
Over the course of his long career, he had won thirteen regional Emmy awards and more than a half-dozen other professional accolades.
After retiring from KOMO News, Strothman began his own production company, Glass Mountain Movie Productions, and continued freelancing for his old employer.
His son, Dan Strothman, is a station photographer for KOMO-TV. He is also survived by his wifey, Nora, and a daughter.
Reporter Keith Eldridge tweeted that he had the ‘horrible task’ of delivering the news of his father’s tragic death to Dan Strothman, who is his playmate at the South Sound news bureau.
KOMO news anchor Molly Shen described Strothman as ‘one of the best storytellers’ to have graces the hallways of the Seattle TV station, adding that he was an artist and a good journalist.
Speaking of Pfitzner, the anchor said that the 59-year-old pilot loved his job and always had a smile on his face.
Strothman was someone ‘who indeed knew how his pictures could tell a million words,’ news anchor Dan Lewis said on the air. ‘He was just a true gentleman.’
‘We’re going to miss you guys. And thanks so much for all that you gave to us,’ Lewis said, gagging up.
After fours hours of live morning coverage of the deadly helicopter crash, the news team at KOMO-TV signed off the air with the words: ‘Bill and Gary, our thoughts are with you.’
Eyewitness Chris McColgan, 26, told the Seattle Times the helicopter engine made a ‘deep noise,’ followed by a boom seconds later.
Another witness, Brian Cruz, told the station that it appeared like the aircraft became tangled in some cables and took a nosedive down to the street below, leaking fuel as it plummeted to the ground.
Only the blue tail of the helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, could be identified among the burned metal on the street next to the Seattle Center. Also among the wreckage were three burned-out cars.
Lessons from two thousand seven mid-air news chopper crash that killed four in Phoenix
The deadly Seattle news helicopter crash that took the lives of two people Tuesday comes six years after a mid-air collision inbetween two choppers that killed four people in Arizona.
On June 27, 2007, a Channel three helicopter was hovering over the scene of a low-speed police pursue in Phoenix when a Channel fifteen copter smashed into it.
The collision killed pilot Craig Smith and Scott Browebank, and cameramen Jim Cox and Rich Krolak.
An NTSB investigation concluded two years later that the crash was the result of the pilots multitasking: operating the aircraft, reporting and mounting radio channels.
The agency recommended that the FAA require TV stations to split the flying and reporting duties inbetween two people aboard their news helicopters.
News chopper were also required to have high-visibility lights and bright paint on rotor blades.
The FAA was called upon to help develop better regulations to ensure that news choppers keep their distance from one another; distribute a ‘best practices’ circular; and hold meetings for TV stations to talk about safety issues. Source: AZCentral.com
Kristopher Reynolds, a contractor working nearby, eyed the crash. He said the helicopter lifted about five feet and looked like it was about to clear the building when it tilted. It looked like it was attempting to correct itself and then took a dive downward.
‘Next thing I know, it went into a ball of flames,’ he said.
When firefighters arrived, they found the helicopter, two cars and a pickup truck on fire, along with a hefty cloud of black smoke, fire department spokesman Kyle Moore said.
‘Not only were the cars on fire, the fuel running down the street was on fire,’ he told reporters at the scene.
Firefighters stopped the searing fuel from injecting the sewer.
The two dead at the scene remained in the copter wreckage until investigators from the FAA and NTSB arrived, Moore said.
A woman from one of the burned cars went to a police station and talked to officers. The man from the pickup truck walked off. Fire investigators want to talk to him to make sure he is in good condition, Moore said.
An hour after the crash, firefighters had put out the fire and were cleaning up spilled fuel, which left a strong smell in the area.
According to news reports, the deadly crash took place at around 7.40am local time on Broad Street, just ninety feet from the famed Space Needle.
Three cars caught fire after being struck for the downed chopper, sending enormous plumes of smoke and flames into the air. It took firefighters about an hour to extinguish the flames.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board has since arrived on the scene to begin investigating the deadly crash. The victims’ remains were eliminated from the wreckage at around 11am local time.
‘KOMO chopper crash shows up to have taken lives of our colleagues on board,’ Keith Eldridge, a reporter and anchor with the station, tweeted Tuesday morning.
The Seattle Fire Department stated that there is no indication that it was an act terrorism.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were three people on board the helicopter, which is possessed by KOMO-TV and was being used in a joint partnership with KING Five.
Workers at KOMO rushed to the window when they heard the crash. Reporters with the station were then in the position of covering the deaths of colleagues.
On the street shortly after the crash, KOMO reporter Denise Whitaker said: ‘It is undoubtedly a tragic scene down here. It is a difficult time for all of us this morning.’
KGW reported that the helicopter was managed by Helicopter’s Inc, a company that designs, builds and leases out news choppers to TV and radio stations in Washington state.
In addition to being near the city’s iconic Space Needle in Seattle Center, the crash site is by the EMP Museum, the music and culture museum founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Seattle Center is popular with tourists and locals, and is the site of many music and cultural festivals and sporting activities.
Other cities have experienced helicopter crashes as TV stations rush to cover the news from above major cities.
Two news helicopters collided in midair in Phoenix in two thousand seven as the aircraft covered a police pursue, sending flamy wreckage plummeting onto a park. Four people in the helicopters were killed.
The crash prompted switches at the stations in how they operated their helicopter crews.