2 Houstonians Killed With 3 Others In New Mexico Helicopter Crash

RATON, NM — Two Houstonians were among five people who were killed Wednesday, when their helicopter crashed in Raton, New Mexico.

Killed in the crash were Charles Ryland Burnett, 61, of Houston; co-pilot Paul Cobb, 67, of Conroe; Zimbabwean opposition leader Roy Bennett, 60, who was also from Colorado; Eileen Bennett, 55, of Colorado, and Jamie Coleman Dodd, 57, of Trinidad, Colorado.

Cobb was the former chief of the Pasadena Police Department, where he served fro 1971 until 2004, KPRC reported.

Federal Aviation Administrations officials said the private UH-1 Huey helicopter crashed at about 6 pm Mountain Time, in a mountainous and remote area about 15 miles east of Raton Municipal Airport.

READ: New Mexico Helicopter Crash: Victims Were From Colorado, Texas

The nature of the flight remains a mystery. The helicopter was identified as a private Huey helicopter but the tail number wasn't immediately available.

Limited flight details indicate the helicopter was traveling from Raton to Folsom, New Mexico. Investigators were trying to determine the aircraft's tail number, Lynn Lunsford of the FAA told Patch in an email. The FAA will release that information once it becomes available.

The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash.

Patch AP Wire Editor Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Image:(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Send your news tips to bryan.kirk@patch.com