Three Die as Copter Crashes in Potomac

A helicopter hovering over a Potomac River channel on a photography assignment plunged into the water Friday, killing three passengers who were trapped under water for 20 minutes. The pilot jumped out to safety seconds before impact, officials said.

The five-seat Bell Jet Ranger craft was about 100 yards from land and about 15 feet above the Washington Channel when it apparently developed a mechanical problem, dropped into the water and flipped over, District of Columbia Police Chief Maurice Turner said.

Those killed were photographer William Weems, 44; Robert Joy, 45, both of Washington, and Victoria Hinckley, 24, a secretary for Arlington, Va.-based Sumner Realty Corp.

Weems was shooting pictures for a brochure for the realty company when the helicopter crashed at 7:30 a.m., authorities said. Joy and Hinckley were in the craft for the ride, according to friends.

Pilot Only Survivor

The lone survivor, pilot Jack Turley, 37, of Baltimore, jumped from the craft an instant before it hit the water, then clung to part of the helicopter until a bystander from a nearby boating club rescued him, Turner said.

Turley was listed in serious but stable condition at George Washington University Medical Center with head and spinal injuries, said spokeswoman Katharine Baker.

Weems died of cardiac arrest due to drowning and Hinckley died of chest injuries, hospital spokesmen said.

Weems was a free-lance photographer whose pictures had appeared in National Geographic magazine. His book, “Georgia: The Home Place,” won a New York Critics award.

Police harbor boats arrived within three or four minutes of the accident, but because they were not equipped with diving gear, “they had to go back down to the harbor to pick up equipment and personnel,” delaying the rescue at least 15 minutes, Turner said.

May Carry Scuba Gear

“Certainly, in light of what transpired, we will be making a decision about putting scuba gear on the harbor boats,” he said.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crew lifted the submerged helicopter from the water, using a crane mounted on a barge. The craft was released to the National Transportation Safety Board for examination.

Twenty-three of the 118 helicopter accidents in the United States this year have involved the Jet Ranger, NTSB officials said. Seven of those crashes were fatal, resulting in 16 deaths.

The Jet Ranger, which is considered “a very reliable aircraft,” is used for a broad variety of functions, from transporting corporate executives to crop dusting, said Ken Woolnough, safety director of the Helicopter Assn. International.