The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released their preliminary report on a news helicopter crash that killed a 6ABC pilot and photographer in December.
Monroe Smith, 67, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, and Christopher Dougherty, 45, of Oreland, Pennsylvania, both died in the crash that occurred back on Dec. 19, 2023.
Smith, a veteran helicopter pilot in the Philadelphia news business, had previously flown for NBC10 and the LNS news service NBC10 once used.
Dougherty's brother, Jeff, is an editor with NBC Sports Philadelphia. Dougherty is survived by two children.
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What we know about Chopper 6
Chopper 6 was owned and operated by US Helicopters, Inc. and assigned to 6ABC (WPVI-TV). It was an American Eurocopter Corp. AS350B2 helicopter, N606HD and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 electronic news gathering (ENG) flight.
The helicopter was manufactured in 2013, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records. Its most recent inspection was completed on Dec. 19, 2023, the day of the deadly crash. At the time of the inspection, the helicopter had operated for approximately 7,300 total hours.
Monroe Smith’s history as a pilot
The preliminary report revealed more details on Smith’s history as a pilot. According to FAA records, Smith held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on July 18, 2023. On that day, he reported that he had accrued approximately 8,597 total flight hours, officials said.
What we know about the deadly crash
WPVI’s Chopper 6 took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport on Dec. 19, at 7:23 p.m. after being dispatched by the station’s assignment desk to an area in Smithville, New Jersey, according to the preliminary report released by the NTSB on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
The helicopter was flying to the area to film Christmas lights, officials said.
At the time it was the third flight of the day for Smith and Dougherty and the helicopter had been refueled prior to the flight.
The helicopter arrived at the scene around 7:45 p.m. and began collecting video footage. WPVI’s assignment desk then cleared the crew to return to Northeast Philadelphia Airport shortly before 8 p.m., officials said.
Around 10 p.m., WPVI’s assignment desk notified US Helicopters that they had tried to reach Smith and Dougherty for another assignment but were unable to contact them by phone. State and local authorities were then contacted once officials confirmed Chopper 6 had never returned to Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
Officials analyzed the last contact and flight route information for the helicopter while the Federal Aviation Administration New York Air Route Traffic Control Center was contacted.
Investigators determined the helicopter’s last location was about four nautical miles east/northeast of Hammonton Municipal Airport in Hammonton, New Jersey, officials said.
Deadly Chopper 6 crash
Then, on Dec. 20, around 12:05 a.m., wreckage from the helicopter was found in a densely wooded area of the Wharton State Forest near Hammonton, New Jersey.
The FAA then provided preliminary air traffic control data that revealed more details on the helicopter crash.
According to the data, Chopper 6 climbed to about 1,000 feet mean sea level (msl) around 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 19 after completing the assignment. Shortly after 8 p.m., the helicopter drifted right of the established flight track and then began to descend while passing through an altitude of 775 ft msl, officials said.
The helicopter continued to descend with its ground speed increasing from 93 knots to 103 knots to 107 knots to 115 knots. A witness told investigators he spotted a “solid light traveling quickly at a steep angle” as the helicopter descended while another witness described it as a “giant orange ball” falling into the forest.
Officials said the helicopter struck a tree and then came to rest about 600 feet away.
The helicopter caught fire after the crash, officials said. They also said small pieces separated from the helicopter in the area of the initial impact, the instrument panel separated and the airframe was heavily damage. The rest of the helicopter’s cockpit/cabin area was destroyed, according to investigators.
All three of the helicopter’s rotor blades had remained attached despite being damaged by fire.
Investigators also determined the main rotor transmission had separated from the helicopter generally intact with the rotor system attached while the chip detector was clean and free of metallic debris.
Investigators also determined the helicopter’s engine had separated from the airframe during the crash though it was still attached to the main transmission. The engine showed various states of thermal damage from the fire that occurred after the crash, officials said. They also said they didn’t find any issues in the in the engine that could have led to the crash.
NTSB officials said the entire investigation of the crash will take approximately 18 months at which time they will release a final report and a public docket, including graphs and photographs. The NTSB will then issue a statement of probable cause 60 to 90 days after that. Officials will also issue recommendations if they find anything of concern during the investigation.
