Three people died when a Cirrus SR22 and a Robinson R44 collided midair in Frederick, Maryland, on Thursday afternoon.
The accident occurred at around 3:40 p.m. about a mile southwest of Frederick Municipal Airport. Both aircraft were flying at low altitude at the time of the collision, with the Cirrus en route to the airport and the R44 performing a training run.
The helicopter crashed into a storage facility about a mile away from where the SR22, which deployed its full airframe parachute, came to rest, suspended vertically in a wooded area. The SR22’s parachute lines were tangled along with the airplane in a stand of trees.
All three men aboard the R44, Christopher Parsons, 29, William Jenkins, 47 and Breandan MacFawn, 35, died in the crash. The two men aboard the Cirrus, 55-year-old PIC Scott Graeves and his 75-year-old passenger Gilbert Porter, sustained minor injuries.
Directly before the accident, an air traffic controller told the Cirrus, “I have three helicopters below you in the traffic pattern,” to which the pilot responded he had just two of them in sight.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the crash.
Get exclusive online content like this delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for our free enewsletter.
We welcome your comments on flyingmag.com. In order to maintain a respectful environment, we ask that all comments be on-topic, respectful and spam-free. All comments made here are public and may be republished by Flying.
