(FREDERICK, MD) – Three people are dead following the mid-air crash of a small plane and a helicopter that occurred yesterday afternoon in Frederick.
The three deceased victims are identified as Christopher D. Parsons, 29, of Westminster, MD, William Jenkins, 47, of Morrison, Colorado, and Breandan J. MacFawn, 35, of Cumberland, MD. Investigators have determined all three men were on-board the helicopter. Who was piloting the helicopter has not been verified at this time.
The two persons in the airplane are identified as Scott V. Graeves, 55, of Brookeville, MD, and Gilbert L. Porter, 75, of Sandy Spring, MD. Both were taken by ambulance to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, MD, but were later released from the hospital . Graeves was the pilot of the airplane and Porter was his passenger.
At 3:39 p.m. Thursday, the Frederick County 911 center received multiple calls from witnesses reporting a mid-air collision of a helicopter and small plane north of Patrick Street, not far from the Frederick County Airport. Multiple units from the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Service responded to the area, as did members of the Frederick Police Department, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Maryland State Police.
Emergency personnel found a Cirrus SR 22 airplane suspended vertically in a thin row of trees in the 500-block of Monocacy Blvd., north of Patrick Street. The plane was equipped with a parachute, which had been deployed from the rear of the aircraft.
About one-tenth of a mile south of the airplane, emergency personnel found the wreckage of a Robinson R44 helicopter. The helicopter had crashed between two rows of storage units in a self storage facility near the intersection of Highland and Monroe streets.
Neither aircraft caught fire. Who owned the aircraft and the origin and destination of each remain under investigation.
Maryland State Police investigators from the Criminal Enforcement Division responded to conduct the preliminary investigation. State Police crime scene technicians responded to process the scenes. Maryland State Police Crash Team personnel documented the crash scenes with computer mapping.
Representatives from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded to the scene and examined the deceased. Their bodies were removed about 9:00 p.m. and were transported to Baltimore for autopsies.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene to conduct investigations into how and why the crash occurred. Further information about the crash will come from federal investigators.
The wreckage of both aircraft was left overnight at the scenes. Both scenes have been secured and will remain under guard until federal investigators return this morning