Mon, Nov 21, 2005
Spectators Witness Copters Go Down
One pilot was killed Sunday night when his Aerospatiale AS350B
helicopter apparently struck another while landing at
Homestead-Miami Speedway outside Miami, as fans who had just
watched a NASCAR race looked on.
According to witnesses at the scene, the Aerospatiale (file
photo of type, above), registered to Miami's Biscayne Helicopters
Inc., struck the rudder of a second, smaller helicopter above Turn
2 at the southeast corner of the speedway. The Ford 400 NASCAR
Nextel Cup race had just wrapped up about one half hour before.
"In about three seconds after it hit, it went up in flames,"
said onlooker Diane Terry to the Associated Press. "I was just
stupefied. My motor home is right across from it."
The larger helicopter crashed onto a motorhome inside the
concourse at the track. The 24-year old pilot, who was not
identified, was taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead
an hour later, according to media reports.
The smaller helicopter, believed to be a
Eurocopter owned by Wells Fargo Bank, was forced down
onto the helipad it had just departed, landing on its side. No one
onboard that helicopter were injured, according to Miami-Dade
Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Richard Martin.
"[The helicopters] had either a mid-air collision or a
near-midair collision," said Martin.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was inside the RV.
FAA and NTSB investigators were on scene Sunday night to
determine the cause of the accident.
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