Action News’ helicopter Chopper 6 crashed into a wooded area of Burlington County, New Jersey, shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, killing the pilot and an on-board photographer from the Action News team.
The exact cause of the crash remains unknown and the names of the victims have not yet been released as families wait to be notified. The ABC station said of the crash victims: “They have a long history with our station and have been working as part of the Action News team for years.”
The crash site is approximately 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia and is difficult to access due to heavy foliage. The pilot and photographer are believed to have been returning from an assignment on the Jersey Shore.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be investigating the cause of the crash.
Fatalities due to helicopter crashes are rare. Per the FAA, over the past five years, there have been 0.76 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours in the U.S. Nevertheless, the risk of dying in a helicopter flight or non-commercial plane is still much higher than the risk of dying in a crash on a commercial flight, which averaged 0.00 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2021. In 2022, meanwhile, studies showed that private planes are 200 times more deadly.