The helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area about a mile from the Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport, police said.
View full sizeOne person survived this helicopter crash in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, but two people, including a Tewskbury Township man, died, police report.William Ellsworth, 52, of Tewksbury Township, was the pilot of the helicopter that crashed in a heavily wooded area about a mile from Mount Pocono, according to the coroner's office.
Also killed was the front-seat passenger, Tighe Sullivan, 51, of Darien, Conn. The backseat passenger, Stephen Barral, of Bernardsville, N.J., survived but was listed in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, police and a nursing supervisor said.
The Pocono Record reports Ellsworth’s love of family was unmatched, said family member Tim Fleischer. Ellsworth spent as much time as he could with family, given that he was a commercial pilot.
Fleischer told the newspaper Ellsworth was married for 23 years to his wife, Trish, and they had two children, Eliza, 18, and Harry, 15.
“If there were passions in his life outside of family, it was flying and golf,” Fleischer told the Pocono Record.
Ellsworth got his pilot’s license when he was 21, said Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen told the newspaper.
“American Airlines is saddened to learn of the death of First Officer William “Will” Ellsworth, who had been a pilot with American for 19 years,” the company said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Will’s family and the others affected by this tragedy.”
Pocono Mountain Regional police said they were notified about 10 p.m. Tuesday of a possible missing helicopter in the area of Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport.Authorities believe the helicopter was traveling from Elmira, N.Y., to the New York City region, police said. They were returning from a golf outing, the coroner's office reports.
After dropping off a passenger in Wilkes-Barre, the helicopter ran into poor weather conditions in the Poconos, according to police. There were reports of rain and dense fog Tuesday night in that area. While trying to fly to the nearby airport to land, the helicopter crashed on state game lands about 100 yards from Interstate 380, police and the coroner said.
With the help of U.S. Air Force global positioning technology, Pocono Region detective Scott Dunlap found the wreckage about 2:30 this morning and rescued Barral, according to police.
Ellsworth and Sullivan were pronounced dead about 4:20 this morning by Coroner Bob Allen. Autopsies will be performed within the next two days at Lehigh Valley Hospital, authorities said.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are handling the investigation into the crash, authorities said.
Officials say the helicopter is registered to ACS Helicopters LLC in Far Hills, N.J., and based out of the Somerset Airport in Somerville, N.J., the Associated Press reports.