NTSB issues report on fatal helicopter crash

Federal investigators have released a preliminary report on last month’s fatal helicopter crash in Pittsylvania County.

The report released Thursday by the Federal Transportation Safety Board focuses on what led up to the crash of a Robinson R44 helicopter, piloted by 72-year-old Paul D. Jackson of Chase City.

An NTSB investigator reports Jackson had completed a sightseeing flight thirty minutes earlier and dropped off two passengers at their home. One of the passengers says Jackson ended the flight early due to fog.

At 2:39 p.m., Jackson sent a text to a friend saying he was en route to a restaurant about 12 miles east. Seven minutes later, Jackson again texted his friend and said he flew into fog and made a precautionary landing at Jones’ Food Market on Mount Cross Road, about 3.3 miles north of where he had dropped off his passengers.

According to a witness, Jackson took off at 2:55 p.m., heading southeast. They heard a sound consistent with a helicopter crashing less than a minute after it disappeared into the fog.

Investigators say the helicopter landed a quarter-mile away in a residential lot and caught fire. There was an impact crater about 12 feet west of the main wreckage. The forward sections of the skid tubes were embedded about two feet into the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its right side on a north heading. All major helicopter components were identified at the accident site.

"The fuel tanks were not retrofitted with bladder tanks, and both fuel tanks sustained significant thermal damage. The filler caps remained secure to their filler necks, and both finger screens were clear of debris," according to the report.

The on-scene examination of the airframe and engine did not show any evidence of pre-impact malfunctions or failures on the helicopter. A GPS unit recovered from the accident site was sent to the NTSB’s Recorders Lab for data extraction.

"The closest official weather reporting location was from the Danville Regional Airport, Danville, Virginia, located about 9 miles southeast of the accident site. At 1453, the Automated Weather Observation System reported wind variable at 3 knots, visibility 6 miles with mist, and the overcast ceiling at 400 ft above ground level," read the report. "An Airmen's Meteorological Information (AIRMET) Sierra for instrument flight rules conditions was issued at 1045 for ceilings below 1,000 ft and visibility below 3 miles with mist and fog present."

A final report from the NTSB is likely months away.

Jackson was an avid helicopter pilot who logged thousands of volunteer hours last summer, ferrying relief supplies into the mountains of western North Carolina following deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene. Jackson was noted in the Buggs Island Lake community for offering helicopter rides each year during Lakefest. He also logged dozens of trips to take cancer patients out of town for treatment.