Helikopter - Oppdatering vedr. ulykken på Bahamas den 4. juli - AIN

Witness: AW139 Was Spinning before Bahamas Fatal Crash

More details have emerged into the July 4 AW139 helicopter accident that killed American coal billionaire Chris Cline and six others during a night flight in the Bahamas. According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, an eyewitness saw a running light pattern that suggests the helicopter was spinning on its vertical axis just before it hit the water. The witness saw the helicopter depart and climb to an altitude of 40 to 50 feet agl, “then shortly thereafter, he noted blue and white lights spinning to the left at a rate of about one to two seconds between rotations while descending.” He estimated that the helicopter “rotated to the left three to four times” before hearing the sound of impact.

The helicopter wreckage was found later that afternoon by local residents approximately 1.2 nm from the departure point, inverted, in 16 feet of water. According to the NTSB, the helicopter was found with the “tailboom was separated from the aft fuselage and was recovered in multiple pieces." 

Cline’s helicopter landed on Big Grand Cay between 1:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. local and then hot-loaded the passengers for the planned flight to Fort Lauderdale International airport (FLL). Weather at the time was reported as VFR with a 2,500-foot broken ceiling and visibility of 10 miles.