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CLARKSON VALLEY, MO —
Investigators are on the scene in Clarkson Valley, trying to determine the cause of a Highway Patrol Helicopter crash that killed a veteran pilot. Sgt. Joe Schuengel was killed when his Bell Jet Ranger crashed into an upscale neighborhood of Kehrs Mill Road.
It was just after 11am Friday when troopers say Schuengel was returning from dropping off two troopers in Jefferson County. He was nearly back to Spirit of St. Louis Airport, where the helicopter is based, when something went wrong.
Troopers say there was no communication or distress call that they're aware of, but witnesses say there was an unusual sound that drew their attention skyward;
"I looked up and I saw the helicopter turned on its side with the propellers pointing towards me," witness Maureen Orbe tells FOX 2, "and it was falling to the ground and the front of the helicopter was a little ahead but it was mainly on its side, and it seems like slow motion but it was like two seconds and I was on the phone in 5 seconds."
What followed was a massive crush of rescue personnel into the quiet, hilly, West County area. Among them, somber members of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who considered Schuengel a friend.
Veteran trooper, Sgt. Al Nothum, was moved to near tears as he announced the identity of the fallen pilot.
"I've flown with him before as have most of us here and we wouldn't have done that if we hadn't trusted him. He was a good pilot," Nothum said.
Within a couple of hours federal investigators were taking over the scene of the crash. Troopers say it's still way too early to tell what might have caused it.
Nothum explained, "It's too early. I can tell you that our aircraft, this particular helicopter is maintained, maintenanced every 100 hours. And I can tell you Joe was very meticulous about this helicopter."
Schuengel was forty-seven years old. He was unmarried and had no children. He had been on the highway patrol for seventeen year, flying for the last seven.
We're told he's survived by his mother and sister. Both live in the St. Louis area. His sister was on the scene about an hour after the crash.
Investigators are on the scene in Clarkson Valley, trying to determine the cause of a Highway Patrol Helicopter crash that killed a veteran pilot. Sgt. Joe Schuengel was killed when his Bell Jet Ranger crashed into an upscale neighborhood of Kehrs Mill Road.
It was just after 11am Friday when troopers say Schuengel was returning from dropping off two troopers in Jefferson County. He was nearly back to Spirit of St. Louis Airport, where the helicopter is based, when something went wrong.
Troopers say there was no communication or distress call that they're aware of, but witnesses say there was an unusual sound that drew their attention skyward;
"I looked up and I saw the helicopter turned on its side with the propellers pointing towards me," witness Maureen Orbe tells FOX 2, "and it was falling to the ground and the front of the helicopter was a little ahead but it was mainly on its side, and it seems like slow motion but it was like two seconds and I was on the phone in 5 seconds."
What followed was a massive crush of rescue personnel into the quiet, hilly, West County area. Among them, somber members of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who considered Schuengel a friend.
Veteran trooper, Sgt. Al Nothum, was moved to near tears as he announced the identity of the fallen pilot.
"I've flown with him before as have most of us here and we wouldn't have done that if we hadn't trusted him. He was a good pilot," Nothum said.
Within a couple of hours federal investigators were taking over the scene of the crash. Troopers say it's still way too early to tell what might have caused it.
Nothum explained, "It's too early. I can tell you that our aircraft, this particular helicopter is maintained, maintenanced every 100 hours. And I can tell you Joe was very meticulous about this helicopter."
Schuengel was forty-seven years old. He was unmarried and had no children. He had been on the highway patrol for seventeen year, flying for the last seven.
We're told he's survived by his mother and sister. Both live in the St. Louis area. His sister was on the scene about an hour after the crash.