WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Authorities in Virginia say at least one person was killed in a residential structure after a helicopter crashed into it.
Virginia State Police confirmed the death in a statement Sunday evening.
Police say they are still working to locate and identify the pilot of the helicopter, which crashed in a residential area in Williamsburg and started a fire at a townhouse.
A 911 call came in Sunday before 5 p.m. about an aircraft crashing into a residential structure in Williamsburg near Settlement Drive, Virginia State Police said. The crash caused a fire at a townhouse, police said.
WAVY-TV cited dispatchers reporting that a helicopter had crashed. Neighbors told the Daily Press that they heard sounds resembling a helicopter crash.
The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg issued a tweet Sunday warning students of the crash and urging them to avoid the area around the school's Dillard Complex.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are also responding to the scene.
Peggy Weiss, who lives in the neighborhood, told the Daily Press she saw a small, rickety helicopter crash between two buildings.
Brook Sweeney, who lives across the street from a house on fire, told the newspaper the whole house shook when the crash occurred. "I just heard a loud 'bam' and the whole house was on fire," Sweeney said.
Donald Johnson told the newspaper he was 10 feet away from the crash when it struck his apartment building. "I was downstairs on the first floor when that thing hit and I had never heard a noise like that in my life. I just walked out and looked and got out, I was afraid it would blow up."
