News Chopper Crashed In NJ At 'Very High Speed,' Officials Say

NEW JERSEY — When the 6ABC Action News helicopter crashed in Wharton State Forest, it was traveling at a "very high speed," according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

It has been one week now since the chopper's crash, and authorities are still untangling the details. A preliminary report is expected in the coming weeks, but it could be two years before the NTSB announces its final findings.

Pilot Monroe Smith, 67, and photographer Christopher Dougherty, 45, both of Montgomery County, died last week when the chopper crashed in Washington Township, New Jersey.

"The aircraft hit at very high speed, and after striking the trees, it fragmented," NTSB investigator Todd Gunther told reporters at a briefing, adding the damaged aircraft "was subject to a post-crash fire."

There was no in-flight fire or explosion, Gunther said. It crashed in a remote area of the woods after filming Christmas lights in Galloway.

Moments before the crash, the chopper was traveling at nearly 120 mph at a low altitude, according to FlightAware.com.

The helicopter appeared to be turning at the time of its crash, Gunther said, and it had power and transmission was functioning. There was no sign that the pilot had broadcast any sort of emergency warning, Gunther said.

Smith and Dougherty left Northeast Philadelphia Airport earlier Tuesday before departing to return home from their assignment around 8 p.m., investigators said.

The timeline is still murky, but at some point between then and midnight, they ran into trouble.

Conditions were clear and cold, Gunther said during a Wednesday press conference. And the chopper was on course during the entirety of its flight.

The wreckage was found at around midnight a few hundred yards from Mullica River Road, near Middle Road and Quaker Bridge Atsion Road, New Jersey State Police said.

The wreckage from the crash is being removed to a secure off-site facility, where it is being reassembled to aid in the investigation into the cause. That includes the nose, tail and both sides of the helicopter.

The debris field stretched for 200 yards in the woods, about twice the length originally calculated.

This article contains additional reporting by Megan VerHelst.