2 seriously injured in helicopter crash on Cape Cod

CHATHAM, Mass. — A small two-passenger helicopter crashed into Crows Pond in Chatham Friday afternoon.

Police said two people were in the helicopter and were taken to hospitals. The pilot has been identified as 48-year-old John Ryan of Scituate and the passenger identified as 48-year-old Tyra Pacheco of Acushnet.

Witnesses described the helicopter as flying low over the shoreline homes and hearing the engine sputtering.

"It was a horrible thing, something you can’t imagine. Gee, did that really happen? Like you're in a movie,” said Eba Jabowicz who saw the helicopter as it crashed in her backyard. "It was very close to those trees, it was coming down, down, down, and I stood up because I thought it was going to land, then all of a sudden thump.”

FOX25 has learned the helicopter belongs to Ryan Rotors of Scituate. The company's website said Ryan had more than 6,500 accident free flight hours as a charter pilot and flying instructor.

According to their website, Ryan Rotors has been operating helicopters from the Plymouth airport for more than 20 years.

The operations department at the Plymouth Airport knows John Ryan well. They say they “love him and everything he does, he’s a wonderful guy and they are sending well wishes his way.”

According to the Chatham Police Department, Pacheco was taking aerial real estate photos.

“I met Tyra about a decade ago when she worked as a correspondent at The Standard-Times; she stayed with us for several years and I hated to lose her when she moved on," said Susan Pawlak-Seaman, the night editor at The Standard-Times of New Bedford. "She is an excellent writer and an even more talented photographer so I'm not surprised by how successful she became after starting her own business."

Pawlak-Seaman said in a statement that beyond her professional accomplishments, Tyra is a terrific person, warm and funny, and an absolute joy to know.

"My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family," she said.

Pacheco is listed in critical condition at a Boston hospital.

"He was trying to comfort her, at first I didn’t know it was a woman, I thought it was a child, and he said his back hurt,” Jabowicz said. "I went down there and you could see the girl was pinned, she was screaming and moaning.”

Friends and family tell FOX25 the two individuals are extremely successful in their businesses and they are hoping for speedy recoveries.

The NTSB and FAA will be investigating the crash, but they cannot arrive until Saturday so the wreckage will remain in place overnight.

Cox Media Group