Helicopter Crash Kills 5 In Eastern Remmington

Investigators believe rotor malfunction to blame

MARKELLA, REM--Police in southeastern Remmington are investigating a helicopter crash that killed five people Tuesday afternoon.

The crash happened in Helona County, about 150 miles southeast of Remmington City, at around 4:00 p.m. eastern time. The chopper went down in a rural wooded area about 3 miles south of the small town of Markella.

According to the Helona County Sheriff's office, the helicopter belonged to a tourist sight-seeing company based out of Dry Springs, about 30 miles west of Markella.

It's unclear what caused the accident. But investigators with the Remmington Department of Transportation and the Federal Bureau of Transportation Safety (FBTS) believe a problem with the helicopter's rotor may have caused the aircraft to go down without warning.

Local air traffic controllers did not report any emergency signals from the aircraft.

Authorities say there were two pilots and three passengers on board the helicopter at the time of the accident. They declined to give further information until the victims' kin have been notified.