The National Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) has released a preliminary report on the fatal helicopter crash that occurred in Pittsylvania County on March 15. The pilot, 72-year-old Paul Jackson was killed in the crash that occurred around 3 pm in the 2000 block of Campview Road near Whitmell School.

According to the NTSB, Jackson completed a sightseeing flight at 2:38 pm and dropped the two passengers off at their home. Jackson ended the flight early due to fog in the area.

At 2:39 pm Jackson sent a text message to a friend saying that he was heading to a restaurant 12 miles east of his location. At 2:46 pm Jackson sent another text to the friend saying that he landed at a convenience store due to fog.

A Witness at the convenience store stated that Jackson took off again at 2:55 pm and disappeared into the fog. The witness said he heard what sounded like a crash less than a minute after it disappeared into the fog.

On-scene examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any evidence of preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter. A GPS unit recovered from the accident site was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Recorders Laboratory for data extraction.