2 injured in helicopter crash at Olympia airport

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 26, 2018

Associated Press

OLYMPIA — A pilot and mechanic were in a helicopter that crashed Friday after taking off at Olympia Regional Airport in Tumwater.

City of Tumwater spokeswoman Ann Cook says the helicopter from NW Helicopters had just taken off on a test flight when it experienced a mechanical issue.

She says the helicopter then lost altitude and crashed in a grass field at the southern end of the airport.

Cook says both men were taken to a hospital in Olympia with injuries that were not life-threatening.

The Port of Olympia, which runs the airport, tweeted that airport operations were not interrupted.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.