Federal authorities probing Ohio helicopter crash, 2 killed

STONY RIDGE, Ohio – Federal investigators will try to determine what caused the fatal crash of a helicopter used for inspecting power lines.

Both men aboard died Monday. FirstEnergy said both were contractors doing transmission line inspection work in northwest Ohio.

The Wood County sheriff’s office has identified the pilot as 32-year-old Tyson Snyder of Wooster, Ohio, and his passenger as 62-year-old Jeffrey Fluharty of Fairmont, West Virginia.

The sheriff’s office says a caller reported that the helicopter went down suddenly in the crash around midday Monday just south of the Ohio Turnpike.

Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn says there was no sign of fire and no indication that the aircraft hit utility lines.

Authorities say the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.