NTSB Provides More Details On Charlottesville Helicopter Crash

This Monday, the NTSB released an update on the August 12^th crash of a Virginia State Police helicopter in Charlottesville, Virginia that killed Virginia State Police Officer-pilots H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Berke Bates, 40. The NTSB reported that the Bell 407 helicopter left Charlottesville airport at 3:54 pm. From 4:04 to 4:42, the aircraft was "engaged in mission-related activities." The purpose of the flight was to provide video feed of the violence that broke out around a white nationalist rally.

At 4:42 pm, the helicopter left the scene to provide support for Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's motorcade. A 911 call reporting the crash came at 4:44 pm. No distress call was received and the helicopter was not equipped with a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder. Neither was required. There was a post-crash fire.

Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen graduated from the Virginia State Police Training Academy in May 1994 and joined the Aviation Unit at the Virginia State Police Aviation Base in Manassas in 1999 as a Trooper-Pilot. He held a bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates served as a Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol from 1998 until he joined the Virginia State Police in 2004. He became a Trooper-Pilot with the Virginia State Police Aviation Unit just last month.

Yesterday, NTSB investigators and local authorities were working to recover the wreckage and interview witnesses. A preliminary report on the accident is expected in the next two to three weeks. The NTSB believes it will take 12 to 18 months to complete the investigation.

The accident helicopter was involved in another crash in 2010. The NTSB found that the probable cause in that case was the improper repair of an engine component, which resulted in a complete loss of engine power. No one aboard was injured in that event.

Learn more at the NTSB and Virginia State Police.