{"id":31694,"date":"2018-10-15T20:47:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T20:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/15\/feds-release-report-on-alaska-helicopter-crash-that-killed-3\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:20:00","slug":"feds-release-report-on-alaska-helicopter-crash-that-killed-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/10\/15\/feds-release-report-on-alaska-helicopter-crash-that-killed-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds release report on Alaska helicopter crash that killed 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JUNEAU, Alaska \u2014 The surviving passenger of a deadly Alaska helicopter crash told federal investigators that the aircraft entered a freefall from about 500 feet (152 meters) in the air before smashing onto a beach in Glacier Bay National Park <\/a>last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Transportation Safety Board<\/a> released a preliminary report last week on the Sept. 28 crash the killed both pilots and an 11-year-old boy, the Juneau Empire<\/a> reported Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 14-year-old survivor told an NTSB investigator that the pilot \u201creached down and rolled the throttle off\u201d before the helicopter entered the free fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pilot increased throttle, but the helicopter hit shallow water near Lituya Bay, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Gustavus. The passenger went unconscious after the impact, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The passenger did not understand the pilot’s actions, and “at this point, neither do we,” investigator Joshua Lindberg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t