A helicopter being used to survey power lines crashed in a densely populated neighborhood in Waldorf, Maryland, on Sunday, narrowly missing homes and their residents.
The chopper narrowly missed several homes off of Carthage Court about 10 a.m. and crashed near a community pond.
“[I was] just baffled. It was very out of the ordinary,” one neighbor said.
Another said the boom of the crash sounded like a “truck collision.”
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Brandon Kober was in his house when he heard what he thought was a lawn mower. Nothing could have prepared him for the view outside his window.
“The helicopter is just spinning down and crashing right in the grass through the fence here,” Kober said.
He immediately ran outside to help. He said the three people inside were shaken up, but not seriously hurt.
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“[I was in] shock. Like, my gosh. Making sure everyone’s OK, first and foremost. And then thank God it wasn’t any worse than what it was,” he said.
Mike Taylor, who lives on the other side of the crash, recorded video of the scene.
He was getting ready to go to the store with his son when “the sound got louder. It sounded like something was crashing. I happened to look and I saw the helicopter just before it touched the ground. It was a loud crash,” he said.
Crew members told neighbors they were surveying power lines in the area when they heard some sort of pop that caused a malfunction. They attempted to land in the field and retaining pond area, Maryland State Police said.
The helicopter, a Hughes model 369D, is owned by Haverfield Aviation. A crew from the company was at the scene Sunday. They declined to speak on camera but said they were grateful everyone was able to walk away from the crash and that the collision wasn’t more serious.
“Thank God. It could’ve been coming down straight on top of our house or into the side of another house. My kid could’ve been here. My wife could’ve been here. It could’ve come down while I was up there and who knows,” Kober said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is collecting the wreckage and moving it to an inspection facility in Delaware.
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