Bolt Was Missing on Police Helicopter That Crashed in South Carolina, Report Says

A police helicopter that crashed at a South Carolina airport was lacking a bolt that ought to have been eliminated and reinstalled throughout upkeep about six weeks earlier, federal officers stated in a report.

A second bolt on the Charleston County Sheriff’s Workplace helicopter additionally was unfastened and the pilot, who survived, informed investigators he felt like his foot controls to maneuver the plane’s tail rotors weren’t working, in response to the preliminary report from the Nationwide Transportation Security Board.

“It felt as if the pedals weren’t connected,” the pilot stated.

The tail rotor is essential to protecting the helicopter steady and steering it. About 35 minutes into the Aug. 1 flight from Sumter to Charleston, the pilot reported the helicopter wished to maintain pulling to the proper, in response to the report.

The pilot declared an emergency and tried to land on the Charleston Worldwide Airport. Surveillance video from the airport confirmed because the helicopter hovered about 20 toes (6 meters) from the bottom, it pulled proper, rose, then plunged into the bottom

The helicopter had been to a store in Sumter, which was not named within the report, twice for upkeep previously six weeks.

On June 28, the lacking bolt and the bolt that was unfastened as a result of a pin was lacking had been each presupposed to be eliminated and reinstalled, the report stated.

The helicopter flew for about 15 hours earlier than the pilot took it again to Sumter for extra upkeep on the day of the crash.

The pilot, Charleston County sheriff’s Lt. Scott Martray, has been with the company since 2006 and is the chief pilot for the sheriff’s workplace. He was launched from the hospital a day after the crash.

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