Photo Copter Goes Down in Potomac; 3 Die

A helicopter carrying a noted photographer snapping pictures for an advertising agency plunged into a Potomac River channel today and sank, killing three people, including the photographer, officials said.

The craft, a Bell Ranger, was hovering about 100 yards from the waterfront when it apparently developed a mechanical problem, police said.

Divers were dispatched to the Washington Channel near the Francis Case Memorial Bridge, about half a mile from the Washington Monument, police spokeswoman B. B. Young said.

The helicopter carried four people, police said.

The photographer, William Weems, 44; his friend, Robert Joy, 45, and an unidentified woman who underwent emergency surgery at George Washington University Hospital, were killed, Police Chief Maurice Turner said.

Pilot Jumped From Craft

Pilot John Turley, 37, of Baltimore, was in stable condition with back injuries at George Washington, a spokeswoman said. Turley jumped from the craft before it smacked into the water, police said.

Weems, of Washington, was a free-lance photographer who did work for the National Geographic magazine. His book, “Georgia: The Home Place,” won a New York Critics award several years ago. His latest book, “South,” was about to be published.

A number of people saw today’s accident.

“It was a four-door helicopter with one big door open on the left side and one guy was hanging out of it taking pictures with a camera,” said Griff Carey, an employee at the Phillips Flagship Restaurant.

Carey said he “heard a change in sound” in the craft’s engine and ran outside. “Ten seconds after the engine died it was fully submerged,” he said.