A helicopter crash at Sacramento Executive Airport in California is being blamed on an unknown thief.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash to PEOPLE Thursday, adding that they “don’t yet know how many people were on board or their conditions.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, the FBI added that they were investigating “the theft of an aircraft” in association with the Sacramento Police Department. It added that the crash “caused damage to multiple aircraft at Sacramento Executive Airport.”
“During the early morning hours of March 15, 2023, Sacramento Police Department officers responded to the 6100 block of Freeport Blvd following reports of helicopters being broken into, including one that appeared to have been operated resulting in a collision,” added the FBI statement.
“Upon arrival on scene Sacramento Executive Airport, officers located a helicopter that had been operated, and was involved in an incident that caused damage to multiple aircraft,” it continued.
“This investigation is ongoing, and the FBI and Sacramento Police Department continue to work collaboratively to investigate the incident and locate the subjects involved.”
Sacramento police told ABC News that the unnamed suspect broke into the airport andattempted to start four helicoptersduring the incident.
Local news outlet KCRA 3 added that the would-be crook then apparentlylost control of a Bell 429and crashed it inside the airport perimeter, before fleeing the scene.
Helicopter crash.CBS Sacramento/YouTube
The Sacramento Beeadded that police arrived at the airport to discover thehelicopter laying on its side with major damageincurred including the shearing of the aircraft’s rotor blades,
A photographer for KCRA 3 on the scene also said the “tail boom was cracked and the rotors were smashed.” He added that the debris appeared to span “hundreds of yards on the tarmac.”
Destruction of an aircraft is considered a federal felony. Special Agent Sean Reagan told KCRA 3 that a “combination of evidence collected, witness information and surveillance video” had helped them to identify a person of interest, who the FBI is now actively seeking.
“If someone wanted to take an aircraft for a joyride, someone who wanted to take an aircraft to do some other criminal activity or damage to other property, terrorism would be at the other end of the scope,” Reagan told KCRA 3.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The FBI is urging anyone with information about the incident to call its Sacramento Field Office at 916-746-7000 or send a tip totips.fbi.gov.
source: people.com
