Yesterday, just after noon, a helicopter crashed into the Chesapeake Bay about 10 miles south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The aircraft was described as a 2-seat Cabri G2.
The crash happened just off of Bloody Point which is the deepest part of the otherwise shallow Chesapeake Bay reaching depths of 172 feet.
Authorities determined that there were two passengers on the helicopter and both were initially missing in the 50 degree water. The wreckage was located early yesterday evening in about 55′ of water. The search for the occupants continues until about midnight and resumed early this morning when Natural Resources Police reported that they have recovered the two men involved in the crash. The Pilot was identified as Charles Knight, 36, of Mt. Airy Pasadena, and the passenger as Matthew Clark, 36; of Pasadena, MD.
Authorities are just beginning the investigation and do not have any information as to the cause of the crash and are working to recover the wreckage. According to a tweet from Cheryl Costello for Chesapeake Bay Magazine, the helicopter was rented from Monumental Helicopter based out of the Tipton Airport near Ft. Meade.
From Monumental Helicopters, the owners of the helicopter: It was a Cabri G2, rented to a private pilot yesterday morning. N572MD was manufactured in 2017 and completed it’s annual inspection in March 2019. Spokesman says they are cooperating w/ the investigation. @ChesBayMag
— Cheryl Conner Costello (@CherylCCostello) May 5, 2019
.@MDNRPolice are investigating a fatal helicopter crash that occurred yesterday near Kent Island in the #ChesBay. Our investigators are working with National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Admin. investigators to recover the wreckage. https://t.co/TF71WWbyiz pic.twitter.com/IjSKinrdtj
— Maryland NRP (@MDNRPolice) May 5, 2019
Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) responded along with the U.S. Coast Guard, NTSB, FAA, Queen Anne’s County Fire Department, Talbot County Fire Department, Anne Arundel County Fire Department, and Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We initially reported both victims were from Pasadena. The pilot, Charles Knight is from Mt. Airy. We have made corrections to headline and article. We regret the error.
