Maryland Police Recover 2 Bodies From Helicopter Crash

Stock photo of a helicopter hovering above water. (California Highway Patrol)

KENT ISLAND—Police in Maryland said divers found a helicopter that crashed into the Chesapeake Bay, and recovered the bodies of both people on board from the battered cockpit about 55 feet below the surface.

Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert said divers with his agency and Maryland State Police recovered the bodies Saturday night off Kent Island’s Bloody Point, about 20 miles southeast of Annapolis, Maryland.

Authorities identified the pilot as Charles Knight, 38, of Mount Airy, Maryland, and the passenger was Matt Clark, 36, of Pasadena, Maryland.

Albert said there was a field of debris on the surface, none of it bigger than a laptop computer, but the helicopter came to rest largely intact on the floor of the bay.

He said they’ll use inflatable air bags to raise it to the surface, and the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause.

The helicopter crashed into the Chesapeake Bay off Kent Island, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon, May 4.

The authorities responded to a report at around 12:30 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed, Maryland Natural Resources Police Capt. Brian Albert told the Baltimore Sun.

The brother of an onboard passenger was boating in the area and saw the incident happening, and notified authorities CNN reported.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department sent a dive team to the scene to locate the missing passengers.

Brandi Colbert, a witness who works in the Kent Point Marina, told the Baltimore Sun that the helicopter went over the marina and disappeared.

Epoch Times reporter Allen Zhong and The Associated Press contributed to this report.