descending spiral. Radar contact was lost at 9:04 pm. ATC did not receive any distress calls. Initial press reports suggested that an air medical helicopter crew passing overhead first spotted the burning wreckage. Emergency responders included the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and volunteer firefighters. Reaching the “remote, wooded” area required them to hike in from the point that the landscape became impassable for all-terrain vehicles; one state trooper estimated that it was a two-hour to two-and-a-half-hour round trip from the nearest road. By the time responders arrived, most of the helicopter’s fuselage and tail cone had been con- sumed by the fire. The pilot’s remains were later recov- ered from the wreckage.
The Weather The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) final report noted that while there were no high- or low- pressure systems near the accident site, a trough run- ning from north central to southwest Pennsylvania provided lifting action for whatever moisture was in the vicinity. While KAPV, 23 miles to the southeast,
reported 10 miles visibility under a 7,500-ft. overcast, the Greater Binghamton Airport (KBGM) in East Maine, New York, 44 miles north, recorded just 1.5 miles visibil- ity in light snow and mist, with broken ceilings descending from 4,300 ft. 10 minutes before the acci- dent to 2,900 ft. 18 minutes later. At 7:53 pm, more than 15 minutes before the pilot
took off, the National Weather Service office in Binghamton, New York, had issued an area forecast that included lake-effect snow showers moving through the area, and AIRMETs (AIRman’s METeorological Information) for mountain obscuration, moderate icing, and moderate turbulence were in effect across the route. Archived Doppler radar data showed snow show- ers moving across the accident site at the time of the crash.
The Pilot The 54-year-old private pilot was an anesthesiologist who routinely flew to his practice in Sayre, Pennsylvania, after buying the R44 less than a year ear- lier. He was rated for single-engine airplanes and sea- planes and held an instrument airplane rating. He had
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