Former Seattle businessman Thomas J. Stewart, his wife and their young daughter were among five people killed in a helicopter crash north of Phoenix, a spokesman for Stewart’s company, Services Group of America (SGA), said.

“Authorities conducted a thorough ground and air search of the crash area Sunday afternoon and into the night,” a SGA spokesman said in a statement. “They are certain there were no survivors.”

The family was flying from Flagstaff to Scottsdale Air Park when the crash occurred.

The cause of the crash has not been determined. Thomas Little, an air safety investigator for National Transportation Safety Board, said that it could be nine months to a year before a cause, if any, is determined.

Little said that there was a ¾ mile debris trail leading up to the crash site, indicating that pieces of the aircraft had come off. Little said the pieces appeared to come from one of the helicopter’s rotors, although he could not say which one. Little said that he was not aware of any radio distress calls before the crash.

Investigators starting moving debris to a site for examination.  “It’s a time-consuming process,” Little said.

Stewart owned a ranch in Flagstaff, according to Metropolitan King County Council member Pete von Reichbauer, who was a former neighbor of Stewart on Vashon Island and worked for Stewart as a former vice president of SGA.

The helicopter belonged to Services Group of America, the parent company for Food Services of America.

“The impact was horrific. There was debris everywhere,” said Maricopa County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Lindsey Smith. “The aircraft is literally in pieces.”

According to emergency calls made from the scene, Smith said there were reports of smoke, loud noises and pieces falling from the helicopter as it went down.

“The indications are there were some mechanical issues going on,” Smith said. She said the helicopter crashed in a wash that is about 100 feet wide, with houses on either side.

Sheriff deputies were going door to door, interviewing residents and blanketing a debris search area that officials described as several hundred feet.

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board headed to the crash scene, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Stewart was a Seattle native and was active in both Washington business and political circles.

Three individuals, including a child, died when the helicopter they rode in crashed approximately 35 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

According to the FAA, investigators had yet to determine the exact cause of the crash.  The Eurocopter EC135 crashed and burst into flames at approximately 3 p.m. local time west of Cave Creek, Arizona.

FAA agents were enroute to the scene, and an NTSB investigator was also scheduled to arrive.

El Paso man among 3 killed in McGregor Range helicopter crash
By Darren Meritz / El Paso Times
Posted: 02/06/2010 01:44:32 PM MST

Three dead in helicopter crash at McGregor RangeHelicopter crashes at McGregor RangeEL PASO – The three-member crew of a Southwest Med Evac helicopter died on Friday night when the aircraft crashed during a training flight at McGregor Range.

The helicopter’s pilot, William Montgomery of Avondale, Ariz., and two paramedics, John Sutter of Las Cruces and Anthony Archuleta of El Paso, were killed when the aircraft crashed as it prepared to land, according to officials from Omniflight Helicopters, Inc., the aircraft’s operator.

The helicopter was not transporting a patient. Details of the crash remained sketchy this afternoon.

“The cause of the accident is unknown at this time,” Anthony DiNota, president and chief operating officer of Omniflight, said in a news release. “There are many questions that need to be answered.”

The crew was participating in a training scenario involving a simulated medical evacuation.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board came to El Paso today to determine what happened. Officials from Omniflight Helicopters, Inc. also were at the crash site.

Southwest Med Evac, a unit of Omniflight Helicopters, is contracted with Fort Bliss for emergency medical services.

EL PASO — Three people were killed when a medical helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Fort Bliss, just outside El Paso, Army authorities said.

The Southwest Med Evac helicopter crashed on final approach to a landing zone on Friday during a scheduled training session at the McGregor Range, according to a statement Saturday from Las Cruces, N.M.-based Southwest Med Evac, a unit of Addison-based Omniflight Helicopters.

The company said the three crew members on board were the pilot, William Montgomery, of Avondale, Ariz., and paramedics John Sutter, of Las Cruces, N.M., and Anthony Archuleta, of El Paso.

Anthony DiNota, president and COO of Omniflight Helicopters, said the cause of the crash was not yet known.

“There are many questions that need to be answered,” he said. “Right now, our focus is on the families who are experiencing this huge loss, and we are working with federal investigators to identify the cause.”

Post spokeswoman Jean Offutt told the El Paso Times that the helicopter caught on fire.

At the time of the accident, the weather was clear and the pilot was in contact with military range control officers and the company’s communication center, the company said. It added that the helicopter was equipped with night vision goggles for each crew member, satellite navigation, radar altimeter and GPS.

Friday was the second day of a two-day training scenario involving a simulated medical evacuation.

The newspaper said federal investigators, including from the National Transportation Safety Board, were at the scene.

Southwest Med Evac has a contract with Fort Bliss for emergency medical services.

Three were killed when a medical evacuation helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Fort Bliss, Army authorities said.

The Southwest Med Evac helicopter crashed on final approach to a landing zone during a scheduled training session at the McGregor Range, according to a statement from Las Cruces, N.M.-based Southwest Med Evac, a unit of Addison-based Omniflight Helicopters.

The company said the three crew members on board were the pilot, William Montgomery, of Avondale, Ariz., and paramedics John Sutter, of Las Cruces, N.M., and Anthony Archuleta, of El Paso.

Anthony DiNota, president and COO of Omniflight Helicopters, said the cause of the crash was not yet known.  Federal investigators, including from the National Transportation Safety Board, were at the scene.

Southwest Med Evac is a contracted to Fort Bliss for emergency medical services.

An Arrow Falcon Exporters OH-58A helicopter landed hard in an orchard in Escalon, California on February 2, 2010. Shortly after takeoff the commercial pilot, who was flying for Cavanagh Flying Service, noticed the generator light was illuminated and the helicopter was also vibrating.

Shortly after relaying the message of the helicopter’s vibrations the pilot said “I’m going down.” The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The helicopter landed hard impacting terrain and sustained damage to the entire fuselage.

The helicopter wreckage was retained for further investigation.

A commercial helicopter pilot flying for S and S Helicopters was in a Hiller UH-12E helicopter on February 2, 2010 when it landed hard near Los Banos, California.

The pilot had completed an aerial application of a wheat field and was returning to the landing area when the helicopter’s engine did not respond. The commercial pilot twisted the throttle, however the speed of the helicopter would not change. The pilot aborted the landing and steered the helicopter to a larger open field where he attempted to diagnose the problem by continuing to twist the throttle with no response from the helicopter.

The commercial helicopter pilot decided to perform a run-on landing. During this landing the helicopter’s speed began to decrease and the helicopter landed hard in the field.

Post-landing of the helicopter showed the tailboom separated from the aft bulkhead and the lower fuselage sustained damage.

After investigation into the crash, it was determined the throttle control lever was separated from the cam lever rod bearing, and thereby causing it to fail.