Newlyweds killed in US copter crash identified
Newly-weds, Lovish Bhanot and Anupama Bhola have been identified as the victims from India who were killed in last week’s fiery tour helicopter crash near Las Vegas in the US, an official said on Monday.
Bhanot, 28, and his 26-year-old wife, from New Delhi, had been vacationing in Las Vegas when their helicopter crashed near the bottom of a canyon on Wednesday.
Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said he has been in touch with the couple’s family who helped identify the couple through medical records, Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
“It is my understanding that they were married sometime in November in their home country,” Murphy said.
The three other victims — the pilot, 31-year-old Landon Neild of Las Vegas, and 49-year-old passengers Delwin and Tamara Chapman from Utica, Kansas, a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary — were identified by the coroner’s office on Saturday.
All the victims died from multiple blunt force and thermal injuries in the fiery crash, the coroner’s office said.
A team at the crash site wrapped up its investigation.
The analysis of what went wrong could take months, but a preliminary report will be available by December 20.
Investigators have determined that the day before it crashed, the AS350 helicopter underwent routine 100-hour flight maintenance, a check that resulted in the engine and two mechanical control devices being replaced because of lifetime limits of the parts, National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said.
When investigators separated the engine wreckage on Friday, an initial examination indicated it was producing power at the time of impact, he added.
The engine parts are under review, and France’s aviation investigators have been called to help because the aircraft is of French origin, he said.
— PTI
Post new comment