NTSB: Pilot in Fatal Crash Not Qualified to Fly in Bad Weather

The pilot of the helicopter that crashed in late July in Pennsylvania killing all five people on board, including an Ellicott City man and his daughter, did not file a flight plan, was not instrument rated and there was no record that the pilot obtained a weather briefing before departure, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

David Jenny, 30, of Towson was the only licensed pilot on board the helicopter at the time, although NTSB has not said who was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash, which killed Bernard Michael Kelly, 58, of Ellicott City; his daughter Leanna Mee Kelly, 27, of Savage; Carl Robert Woodland, 29, of Lovettsville, Va.; and Woodland's son, Noah Robert McKain Woodland, 3, around 10:20 p.m. on July 27 in Pennsylvania.

The NTSB reported the pilot was non-instrument rated, meaning the pilot wasn't qualified to fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), or inside clouds or in bad weather.

One of the pilot's last statements to air traffic control was, "We're inadvertent IMC, reversing ah, can you give us a heading to the nearest airport," according to the NTSB report.

Then the pilot said, "having trouble maintaining control here" followed by a question from air traffic control as to whether the helicopter was losing altitutde, to which the pilot said, "Affirmative."

After that there was no further recorded communications with the pilot, according to NTSB.

The Robinson R66 helicopter left Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott, NY and was on its way to an airport in Lehighton, PA before it crashed, according to NTSB.

Thunderstorms and heavy fog were reported in the area at the time when the helicopter crashed in a wooded area near Scranton, PA. The NTSB had to call off a search for the missing helicopter the night of the crash due to heavy fog, according to the report. There were no witnesses to the crash, said NTSB.

At the time of the crash, Jenny was employed as a commercial pilot for Monumental Helicopters, a helicopter tour company based at Fort Meade that offers sight-seeing tours. Monumental's owners told the Baltimore Sun that at the time of the crash Jenny was on vacation and the helicopter was not leased or owned by the company.

The victims' families have declined to talk publicly about the crash at this time.