BEEKMANTOWN – A Hyde Park man was injured in a helicopter crash in Clinton County in which two other passengers were killed.
The helicopter, a 1981 Aerospatiale owned by Catalyst Aviation of Hammontown, New Jersey, was contracted by Northline Utilities for the New York Power Authority to work on the power lines.
Around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, authorities received a report of a helicopter burning while partially suspended from the power lines. Reports say some of the occupants jumped about 40 feet to the ground.
Killed in the accident were one of the pilots, Robert Hoban, Jr., 56, of Shamang, New Jersey and a passenger, Jeremy Kearns, 30, of Massena, New York.
Two other occupants were injured, including Scott Fabia, 34, of Hyde Park and Benjamin McAllister, 30, of Hopkinton, New York. They were kept in the hospital for observation.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are assisting the State Police, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and state Department of Environmental Conservation in the ongoing investigation.
