A radio transmission from a police helicopter captured two loud noises and a voice saying “We’re going down” just before it crashed, killing the two people on board, according to a preliminary investigation report released Tuesday.
The accident on the night of February 4 killed an Arizona Department of Public Safety paramedic Hunter Bennett, 28, and pilot Robert Skanky, 61.
A large portion of the helicopter’s body including the cockpit and cabin burned in the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board’s initial report did not draw any conclusions about the cause, but pointed to a mechanical problem with the main rotor and not the bullets that were shot skyward: It said there was no sign of “ballistic holes” in the wreckage.
More definitive answers are expected in the NTSB’s final report a year or so from now.
Shortly after the incident, police arrested Terrell Story, 50, who police allege jumped from rooftop to rooftop in a residential neighborhood during a shootout with officers.
The helicopter arrived to provide a bird’s-eye view to assist officers on the ground. Before it crashed, the plane was flying back to the scene of the shooting when it slowed to a hover about 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the top of a hill, according to public flight path data.
The initial report focused largely on the helicopter’s main rotor, which failed before the accident. Three of the four rotor blades came to rest 165 feet (50 m) from the main wreckage. The fourth landed 650 feet (200 meters) away.
Meanwhile, the helicopter’s tail boom and the top of its vertical fin had “multiple impact marks and gouges consistent with main rotor blade strikes that occurred during the separation sequence.” Part of the crane arm fell 135 feet (40 meters) from the main wreckage, the report said.
Aviation safety expert John Cox told The Associated Press that there was clearly a mechanical problem with the main rotor, but it was not yet clear whether the problem was in the transmission or elsewhere in the helicopter’s engine.
“Something happened that caused the rotor system to disconnect and it did so very quickly,” said Cox, chief safety officer. “According to the report, it was not commanded because it was immediate and you can never do that. So there is a mechanical issue there.”
After the main rotor apparently struck the tail shaft, the tail rotor became ineffective, resulting in an uncontrolled spin described in the report as coinciding with the boom sounds and radio distress call, Cox said.
The helicopter was flying so low and slow that there was little chance of recovery, Cox said.
Police allege her gun battle with Storey began after she responded to a domestic violence call. While police were speaking with the victim in the front yard, Story allegedly fired at officers with a semi-automatic rifle and then jumped from roof to roof.
Eyewitnesses described that they hid in their homes after hearing the sound of gunfire outside.
After his arrest, Storey was initially taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. He remained jailed Tuesday at the Coconino County Detention Center, according to jail records.
A grand jury indicted Storey on February 12 on two counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other crimes, including aggravated assault, burglary, disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment.
A not guilty plea was entered on Storey’s behalf during the arraignment on February 23, according to court records. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for April 16.
Under Arizona law, suspects can be charged murder If you cause someone’s death “during the commission or furtherance of another crime” such as robbery, kidnapping or sexual assault.
The indictment against Story names the 25 victims as law enforcement officers who went to the scene and people living in homes in the area. The dozens of criminal charges against Storey include aggravated assault, burglary, disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment as well as two counts of first-degree murder.
Storey’s attorney, public defender Jennifer Stock, did not immediately return a message seeking comment on her client’s behalf Tuesday.
The helicopter pilot who died was a longtime resident of Kingman, Arizona, and had worked for the Arizona Department of Public Safety since 2021. Skanky previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was married with four children.
Bennett was an honor graduate of Arizona State University and the top graduate of the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy class of 2023. He transferred to the Air Rescue Unit in 2024 and months later married his high school sweetheart.