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Friday, January 23, 2009

NTSB Meets on Phoenix News Chopper Midair

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public meeting Wednesday, January 28, to release their findings regarding two high-profile fatal aviation accidents.

On July 27, 2007, two electronic news gathering helicopters collided in midair in Phoenix, AZ while covering a police pursuit. The helicopters were from local television stations. Each helicopter had a pilot-reporter and photographer on board. All four occupants were killed.

Earlier that month, a Cessna 310R (N501N) crashed while performing an emergency diversion to Orlando Sanford International in Orlando, FL after one of the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit. Both pilots and three people on the ground were killed and four people on the ground received serious injuries.

The meeting will be held in the Safety Board’s Conference Center in Washington, DC. A live and archived webcast of the proceedings will also be made available on the Board's website.