Newlyweds’ helicopter crashed into hillside, report says

UVALDE, Texas – A helicopter that crashed shortly after leaving a Texas wedding reception, killing the bride and groom and a pilot, had collided with a steep hillside near the ranch where the nuptials were held.

That’s according to a preliminary report released earlier this week by the National Transportation Safety Board. The cause of the crash hasn’t been determined, and the report offers no clue of what may have caused the Bell 206 helicopter to go down near Uvalde, about 70 miles (115 kilometres) west of San Antonio.

The crash killed William Troy Byler and Bailee Raye Ackerman Byler, who were both 24, and pilot Gerald Green Lawrence.

The NTSB report noted that first responders had to attach ropes to the wrecked helicopter to keep it from rolling down the steep hillside.