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Georgia Police OH-58 Crashes in Alabama, Killing Two

By Dan Parsons | November 18, 2018
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Bell JetRanger of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Authorities have recovered the fuselage of a Georgia law enforcement Bell OH-58 that crashed into a river in Alabama on Nov. 16, but there are no signs of survivors.

The Chilton County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash Friday on the Coosa River near Cargile Creek, according to a statement posted to the office’s Facebook page.

“Recovery efforts are ongoing,” Chilton County authorities posted Nov. 16. “This is a massive team effort with many federal, state, and county agencies on scene and responding.”

Georgia and Alabama authorities have confirmed a Metro Narcotics Task Force helicopter out of Columbus, Georgia, crashed with two people on board. An FAA statement identified the downed helicopter as a Bell OH-58.

The crash scene has since been turned over to National Transportation Safety Board investigators. Diver located the wreckage and were able to briefly search for survivors on Nov. 16 but were suspended due to waning light creating low visibility in the deep water, according to the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office.

The pilot, whose body has been recovered, was identified by Georgia officials as former Columbus, Georgia, police officer David Hall, 53. Though retired after 28 years in law enforcement, hall continued to serve Columbus “through his piloting skills, according to a statement from the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia.

Hall was a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, according to the statement.

“He was beloved and respected by his fellow officers and by all who knew him. He will be missed,” the statement reads. “David was traveling at the time of his death with a passenger, whose identity and information is being withheld at the request of his family.”