Sometimes an official account shrinks as more is learned, and this case shows it plainly. The Federal Aviation Administration has revised its report on the Baton Rouge Police helicopter that went down near Erwinville, withdrawing its earlier explanation that a tail rotor struck a tree and now listing the circumstances as unknown. Two officers, Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, lost their lives in the crash, which followed a pursuit of a fleeing vehicle. The question of why the aircraft fell remains open, and the full answer is likely to take a long time to arrive.
FAA Revises BRPD Helicopter Crash Report, Now Says Cause Is 'Unknown'
Two BRPD pilots, Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, died in the crash.
The change leaves open the question of why the helicopter came down.
Mark
The FAA took out the tail rotor detail. Why does that matter?
Mimi
Because the first account gave a mechanism: the tail rotor hit a tree. Now there's no stated mechanism at all, just "unknown circumstances."
Luke
Worth being clear about what that means. The source doesn't say the tree-strike claim was wrong. It says the claim was removed from a new report.
Mark
So we can't say it was disproved?
Luke
Right. Nothing here says why it was removed, or that anything contradicted it.
Mimi
The flight data adds to the puzzle, though. Speed went from 40 to 102 and back to 30 mph in about 30 seconds, and it climbed to 1,300 feet.
Luke
That's from FlightAware's public track, not from investigators. It shows movement, not cause, and I wouldn't lean on it as an explanation.
Mark
And the pursuit?
Mimi
The helicopter was called to a hit-and-run chase where the car was reportedly doing up to 150 mph. That's the context for the flight.
Luke
"Reportedly" matters there. And nothing in the reporting links the pursuit to the crash itself.
Mark
What can we count on?
Mimi
Two pilots died, Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, and the full report isn't due until 2024.
Der Puls
- A federal report that once named a cause now admits that the circumstances of the crash are unknown.
- Flight data shows the helicopter's speed lurching from 40 to 102 mph and back to 30 in roughly thirty seconds, then climbing to 1,300 feet before going down.
- The crash came about ten minutes after takeoff while the helicopter was helping chase a hit-and-run suspect reportedly driving as fast as 150 mph.
- Drone footage shows a circular impact scar beside a tree line, and the wreckage has already been cleared from the site.
- Updated federal findings may arrive within weeks, but the complete report is not expected until 2024.
Sometimes an official account shrinks as more is learned, and this case shows it plainly. The Federal Aviation Administration has revised its report on the Baton Rouge Police helicopter that went down near Erwinville, withdrawing its earlier explanation that a tail rotor struck a tree and now listing the circumstances as unknown. Two officers, Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, lost their lives in the crash, which followed a pursuit of a fleeing vehicle. The question of why the aircraft fell remains open, and the full answer is likely to take a long time to arrive.
On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration released a revised report on the Baton Rouge Police helicopter crash near Erwinville, and it said less than the version before it. The earlier account had claimed the tail rotor struck a tree before the aircraft hit the ground beside a cane field. That detail is gone now. The report simply describes the crash as having occurred under unknown circumstances.
The helicopter, a Robinson R44, had been called to help pursue a hit-and-run suspect on Sherwood Forest Boulevard, a vehicle reportedly traveling as fast as 150 miles per hour. Public flight tracking data captures the final minutes in part: a sudden jump in speed, a drop back down, and a climb to 1,300 feet, all about ten minutes after leaving BTR Airport. The numbers show what the aircraft did, not why.
Drone video shows the impact site just feet from a tree line, with a circular scar in the ground. The wreckage has since been removed and the airspace restrictions were lifted.
Two pilots died in the crash, Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro. On Wednesday, a motorcade carried their remains from the West Baton Rouge coroner's office to police headquarters, and funeral arrangements have been set for early April.
Federal investigators may release updates in the coming weeks, but the complete report is not expected until 2024, so a full explanation remains far off.
On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration put out a new report on the Baton Rouge Police helicopter crash near Erwinville, and it said less than the one before it. The earlier account had stated that the aircraft's tail rotor struck a tree. The revised version drops that detail and says the crash happened "under unknown circumstances."
The change leaves open the question of why the helicopter came down. Investigators had initially said the tail rotor hit a tree before the aircraft struck the ground beside a cane field. The FAA received a different report on Thursday, and the mention of the tree strike was removed.
The helicopter was a Robinson R44 belonging to the Baton Rouge Police Department. It went down near Erwinville after being called to help pursue a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run on Sherwood Forest Boulevard. That vehicle was reportedly traveling at speeds as high as 150 miles per hour.
Publicly available flight track data from FlightAware offers a partial picture of the final minutes. The aircraft's speed jumped from 40 mph to 102 mph and then fell back to 30 mph, all within about 30 seconds. It also climbed to 1,300 feet just before the crash, which happened roughly 10 minutes after takeoff from BTR Airport. The data records what the aircraft did, but it does not say why.
Drone video shared with WBRZ shows the crash site sitting just feet from a tree line. The impact left a circular scar on the ground, visible in the aerial footage. The wreckage has since been removed, and the airspace restrictions around the immediate area were lifted late Tuesday.
Two pilots aboard the helicopter died: Sgt. David Poirrier and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro. On Wednesday morning, a motorcade escorted their remains from the West Baton Rouge coroner's office back to Baton Rouge police headquarters. Funeral arrangements were announced for early April.
Federal investigators may release updated information on the crash in the coming weeks. The complete report, however, is not expected until 2024, so a fuller explanation of what happened is likely a long way off.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The crash happened under unknown circumstances.— FAA revised report, as quoted by WBRZ
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