December 21, 2023
CHRIS LACHALL/USA TODAY NETWORK ATLANTIC GROUP
Action News' Chopper 6 helicopter crashed Tuesday night in South Jersey, killing its pilot and a photographer. The aircraft was last in the air above Wharton State Forest in Washington Township, New Jersey.
Federal authorities have started their investigation into the Chopper 6 crash that killed two 6ABC news crew members in South Jersey on Tuesday night.
On Thursday morning, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board began the process of documenting and evaluating evidence from the scene of the crash, NTSB officials told 6ABC. As part of the investigation, the wreckage of the helicopter are being taken to a secure facility to be evaluated.
Two Action News crew members – 54-year-old photographer Christopher Dougherty and 67-year-old pilot Monroe Smith – died in the crash.
The three-part investigation also will examine the pilot’s history and the operating conditions when the crash occurred, along with flight track data, the helcopter's maintenance records, weather conditions, witness statements, video surveillance and air traffic control communications. It could take upwards of a year to complete.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. on Tuesday as Chopper 6 was making its way back to Philadelphia from filming an assignment at the Jersey Shore. The aircraft was last in the air above Wharton State Forest in Washington Township, New Jersey, before it crashed in a remote, wooded area, where the wreckage was found by New Jersey State Park Police sometime around midnight.
Helicopters do not typically have black box recording devices that are required in commercial airliners, but authorities said it is possible that Chopper 6 had a memory card that may contain data relevant to the crash. Investigators are looking into whether or not that’s the case.
This model of helicopter — an American Eurocopter AS-350A-STAR — has been involved in 57 fatal crashes since 1988, according to NTSB records.
In 1980, Action News became the first Philadelphia TV news broadcaster to use a helicopter for news-gathering purposes. Since the introduction of Chopper 6, aerial footage has been a regular component in Action News broadcasts, and the use of helicopters has been become common among many TV news operations.
While the investigation into Tuesday’s crash could take at least a year to complete, officials from the NTSB said the agency is expected to have a preliminary report ready within the next 30 days. Until then, authorities said they will not comment on the potential cause of the crash.
