CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- A helicopter with a pilot and two members of a Mayo heart transplant team on board was at the beginning of a normal flight just before it crashed.
NTSB investigation chief Jose Obergon said there was no distress call and no indications of a problem before the crash that killed all three on board. "It looked like a normal flight," said Obergon during a news conference this morning.
The helicopter also had no black box to record the flight's activities, he said.
MORE: Dispatch notes from crash call
When the Bell 206 helicopter crashed, Obergon said, it caused a forest fire making the investigation more challenging. "A lot of the aircraft is burned up. Ten to 15 percent of helicopter remains...," said Obergon. "We don't have very much to work with."
The NTSB will investigate for five to seven days, then release a preliminary report, he said. It will take six to 18 months for a thorough report to be completed, then an NTSB board will study the report and release a probable cause of the wreck.
Obergon said the investigation could involve the FAA, the manufacturers of the aircraft and engine, pilot skills, weather, radar data and information from the medical examiner.
"The task is going to be to look at the wreckage to see what on- site evidence can give us."
The investigation into the crash resumed this morning and will continue for as long as nature allows, said Obergon. Representatives from both the NTSB and the FAA arrived at the scene just before 9 a.m.
No conclusions have been made yet about the pilot, said Obergon. He has been identified as the owner and president of SK Jets, the company that provided the ill-fated charter.
E. Hoke Smith was flying the helicopter carrying two Mayo Clinic employees on a heart transplant mission Monday morning when it disappeared, according to Derrick Smith, E. Hoke Smith's son, and vice president and general counsel of SK.
PICTURES: Mayo Helicopter Wreck
The helicopter was found later Monday, a pile of wreckage amid clipped trees.
SK Logistics, the legal name of Smith's company, has been the exclusive provider for Mayo's transport needs since 1997. Smith has flown for transplant missions many times, said Derrick Smith.
SK has three helicopters in the company, including the Bell 206 that crashed Monday. Smith said flight plans are by pilots of jets. However, flight plans are not required for helicopters and rarely do pilots file plans for helicopter trips. According to the FAA, a flight plan was not filed Monday.
The Mayo personnel on helicopter were identified Monday:
- Cardiac surgeon Luis Bonilla, M.D., 49, from Rochester, Minn.
- Procurement technician David Hines, from Kentucky
Both currently worked at the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic.
The helicopter remains where it crashed, said Obergon. It is a contained scene, not spread out, about 50 yards by 50 yards.
Gary Robb, an expert on helicopter safety and crash investigations, theorized Monday that the helicopter may have had a weight problem that caused it to fly too low.
"Every helicopter has specific...weight and balance specifications," said Robb. "This equipment is heavy. When you have three people on board, plus the equipment necessary to refrigerate and contain this kind of living human organs it's going to throw some havoc into the situation."
Robb said in his opinion the Bell 206 was too light-weight for such a mission.
"In many instances a light-weight helicopter such as this cannot maintain full power under that kind of a weight load. This helicopter should not be used for this kind of mission. This is a small, light-weight what we call a low- performance aircraft."
Below is a statement from the Mayo Clinic about the helicopter crash:
First Coast News