Report details wreckage of fatal New Mexico helicopter crash – Associated Press
Federal transportation authorities said Friday that a helicopter returning home from a firefighting mission made a rapid descent without making any turns before plowing into the ground last month, killing the four first responders onboard.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board released their preliminary report, noting that two witnesses on a ridge about half a mile away were observing the sunset when they saw the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter go down in the hills near the northern New Mexico community of Las Vegas.
It could take a year or more to make a final determination on the cause of the July 16 crash. It marked the single deadliest incident for law enforcement in state history and one of the deadliest for first responders.
The preliminary report detailed the crash scene, noting that the main wreckage was