Chopper Crash: Eyewitness Reports Fuel Running Down Street

Chris McColgan, 26, who lives a couple blocks west of the crash, said he was driving west on Broad Street when he stopped at the light on John Street, just two cars ahead of where the helicopter came down.

“It just blew up instantly,” McColgan told The Seattle Times. He saw the helicopter fall from the helipad atop the KOMO building.

“The crazy thing is, the movies get it exactly right. It’s that big ... It felt like a movie. It still feels like a movie.”



Eyewitnesses told KOMO Radio that fuel from the crashed helicopter ran down Broad Street, causing at least one person to jump out of her car and flee the scene. The fuel burst into flame, sending thick clouds of black smoke into the air near the Space Needle.

The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene conducting the investigation of the crash, according to Seattle police.

Police closed streets in the area. The smell of fuel and fire was still in the air around Seattle Center two hours after the crash.

KOMO staff members reported that the fireball from the crashed copter could be seen from their newsroom. They said that an hour after the crash, staff members remained dazed, some sitting at their desks with their heads in their hands.

Read More Now