Story Published:
May 26, 2008 at 6:51 AM CDT
Story Updated:
May 26, 2008 at 1:27 PM CDT
LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- The pilot and four passengers were on a sightseeing helicopter when it crashed into the water on Sunday evening. A 9-year-old boy died.
Witnesses watched the helicopter and say it it was obvious something was horribly wrong.
"We noticed it started turning in circles and it was very low to the ground as far as above the water, and probably 25 to 30 feet above the water when it just started spinning around slowly and dropped right into the water," said Jeff Layman.
The aircraft sank quickly. Lake Ozark and Mid-County fire departments responded to the scene, which is on the Shawnee Bend side of the lake, across from Lake Ozark. There, they found four people unharmed and and one missing.
"Boaters were in the area that saw the accident. People either swam to shore or somebody picked them up," said Patrolman Dean Bartlett.
The search for the boy's body ended at 11 p.m. and resumed at 5 a.m. Meanwhile they continue to piece together what happened to the aircraft.
