[PHOTO CREDIT: Leesburg Fire Rescue]
[Original Publish Date: 05/25/21]
LEESBURG, Florida — A Blackhawk helicopter carrying four people, crashed shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday near Leesburg International Airport, according to Leesburg Police Capt. Joe Iozzi.
“It went into a tailspin and the tail separated from the main body,” Iozzi told Lake Legal News near the scene Tuesday night.
The tail landed on airport property and the main body landed in a marshy area behind the airport, he said. Crews are having difficulty reaching the crash site and an apparatus from the state fire marshal’s office arrived on scene shortly before Iozzi he spoke to LLN.
“The apparatus is cutting a path,” he said.
It is unknown if there are any survivors, and Tuesday night it was, “still considered a rescue operation.”
Iozzi would not release any information on who owns the aircraft, but said he believed it crashed during a training operation.
According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter was a firefighting helicopter.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
