Body of pilot pulled from Mogadore Reservoir following helicopter crash in Portage County
The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSP) along with the Portage County Sheriff's Office are investigating reports of a helicopter crash in Portage County Friday morning.
A trooper with OSP's Ravenna post tells 21 News the post received a 911 call reporting a helicopter crash on State Route 43 near Congress Lake Road in Suffield Township.
Suffield Township Fire Chief Bob Rasnick said fire officials were notified of the crash shortly after 7 a.m. when witnesses in a boat saw a helicopter fly into high-tension wires and go into the water.
"We came in, we deployed our boats to the water. We were able to find the location where the helicopter went down. Ended up, he hit the high tension wires that are over here," said Rasnick.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the helicopter was a Schweizer 269C helicopter traveling from Medina.
Booms were placed in the water to keep the reservoir contained from the fuel released from the helicopter. While this is not drinking water, it could affect wildlife.
"We have a boom here at the dam, and we also placed a boom farther up, closer to the crash to catch it in two areas. Cleanup wise, the EPA will take over that," said Craig Peeps, hazmat team coordinator for Portage County.
One wire was broken across the top, but there were no currents going through the wire.
One body has been recovered from the scene. Chief Rasnick says the body was that of the pilot of the helicopter. The pilot's body was recovered just after 9:30 a.m.
The pilot was identified as 52-year-old Anthony Jones of North Royalton, Ohio. Jones was the only one who was on the helicopter at the time of the crash.
"We were under the assumption that there was only one, but we did our due diligence and we checked a few other areas that dd hit with our sonars to make sure that there was nobody else in there, so we're pretty confident that the pilot was our only victim," said Scott Simmons, water rescue team commander for Portage County.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be in charge of the investigation into the crash.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office, fire crews, EMA crews, water rescue team, state patrol and multiple other agencies responded to the scene. Roads that were closed have since been opened.
The helicopter was found 22 feet underwater, leading the team to a boat based operation.
Deputies are asking drivers to avoid the area.
This is a breaking news story. 21 News will provide the latest updates as we get them.
