By Michael Goot
ARGYLE — Two Argyle residents were killed when their helicopter crashed in a wooded area of Argyle early Saturday evening.
The crash happened at about 6:30 p.m. in an area off West Valley Road.
State police said the preliminary investigation determined that 56-year-old Craig E. Seeley and his daughter, 34-year-old Katie M. Seeley, were on board a civilian helicopter when it crashed.
No one on the ground was injured.
There was no information about a cause. The National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation.
NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said one of the investigators’ main priorities will be to document the scene and examine the aircraft.
“Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information, air traffic control communication, airplane maintenance records and the pilot’s medical records,” he said in an email.
Holloway anticipated that a preliminary report would be available in about 12 business days and posted on the NTSB’s website. Determining a cause and issuing a final report can take one to two years, he said.
Argyle firefighters and EMS staged on West Valley Road, south of the crash site. The site was not visible from the road.
Cossayuna firefighters were also on the scene.
This is believed to be the first fatal aviation crash in the area in recent memory.
This is the second aviation-related crash in Argyle in the last few months.
David L. Klingebiel, 80, of Bunker Hill Road in Salem, was flying his fixed-wing, single-engine plane on June 17 when he crashed just after 11 a.m. Klingebiel survived the crash, but had head, chest and leg injuries. That crash remains under investigation.
