Four Others Survive When The Aircraft Went Down Thanksgiving Day

A U.S. citizen was fatally injured Thursday when the helicopter in which he was a passenger went down en route to a resort on Great Guana Cay in the Abacos. He was reportedly the owner of the aircraft. Four others on board, including the pilot, were injured in the accident.

Miami television station WFOR reports that authorities have not officially identified any of those injured in the accident, though the station said one of the survivors was Jeffery Soffer, principal of Turnberry Associates, a Florida-based real estate developer.

The Associated Press reports that one witness, an employee of the resort who did not wish to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the helicopter "got into an air pocket" and began to spin. He said he saw the tailboom separate from the main fuselage of the aircraft, and "somebody got thrown out."

The Nassau Guardian newspaper said the aircraft was attempting to land at the time of the accident, and it was hit by a wind gust. The paper indicates that the aircraft's main rotor hit the ground, and that the person in the co-pilot's seat was fatally injured by the blades. The pilot, a Bahamian citizen, reportedly suffered serious injuries.

The other three passengers were reportedly flown back to the U.S. aboard a private jet.

FMI: http://forms.bahamas.gov.bs/dp_agency.asp?aid=CAD