MONTICELLO — A helicopter crashed in a national wildlife preserve in Middle Georgia and search crews were looking for the wreckage, federal authorities said.
Teams were searching Thursday for the downed aircraft after it went missing late Wednesday in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge north of Macon, The Telegraph reported.
The crash involved a Robinson R66 helicopter, which crashed in a heavily wooded area, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The five-seat chopper is capable of flying 160 mph and traveling up to 400 miles, he said.
It was “pouring rain” in the area Wednesday evening, when authorities said the helicopter went missing about 8:30 p.m., a woman who lives nearby told The Telegraph. She said her husband heard a low-flying aircraft over their house and felt like something was wrong.
“It was flying really low,” April Seabolt told the newspaper.
Local rescue crews set up a command post at the nearby Enon Baptist Church, and Seabolt went there Thursday to tell authorities what she knew about the crash.
Officials did not say whether anyone survived the crash, nor did they identify anyone on board. Few other details were available Thursday.
