PULASKI COUNTY (KFSM) — A retired Little Rock Police officer was in serious condition Friday after being injured in a helicopter crash Thursday morning.
Our Little Rock affiliate KATV reported that the officer, William “Bill” Denio, was seriously injured when the department helicopter crashed during a test procedure about 11 a.m. behind the police department’s training facility on Ironton Cut Off Road.
Lt. Michael Ford, spokesman for the police department, said a senior pilot was testing the helicopter after new equipment was installed when a straight-line wind tipped the helicopter off its staging area.
The propellers caught the ground and began spinning the helicopter along the ground.
Ford said that’s the first time a LRPD helicopter has been involved in such an incident.
The injured officer was taken to the hospital with a head injury. He was confirmed to be the only officer in the helicopter at the time of the crash.
Neither the National Transportation Safety Board nor the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate because the helicopter wasn’t airborne at the time of the accident.
More details on this story are available on KATV’s website.
