WASHINGTON (KLFY) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has released the initial findings in its investigation of a helicopter crash that killed a Kinder family Nov. 1.
The crash near Iowa killed the pilot, Jared Savant, 50, his wife Tanya Savant, 35, and their 2-year-old child. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
According to the preliminary report, the Robinson R-44 II helicopter was destroyed when it crashed near Iowa at 9:06 p.m. Nov. 1.
Investigators said the helicopter crashed onto a two-lane asphalt road bordered by 40- to 50-foot-tall trees on both sides. The fuselage was consumed by a post-impact fire. Some debris, unaffected by the fire, extended about 25 feet from the main wreckage.
A set of power lines, about 30 feet high, ran along the west side of the road, but no evidence of a power line strike by the helicopter was observed.
Position data indicated that the pilot initially departed from private property near Kinder at about 6:13 p.m. and climbed to an altitude of about 800 feet. About 13 minutes later he landed in a field near a restaurant in Lake Charles. The pilot departed from that field at about 8:54 p.m. and headed back the way he came. The helicopter reached an altitude of about 1,300 feet, investigators said.
An initial review by the Federal Aviation Administration showed the pilot held a student pilot certificate. Preliminary review of the pilot’s logbook revealed that he had logged about 139 hours total time, all of which were in R-44 helicopters, authorities said. Of that flight time, about 15 hours were at night. On the day of the accident, sunset was at 6:23 p.m. and civil twilight ended at 6:49 p.m., authorities said.
Read the NTSB's entire preliminary report below.
