Editor’s note: The original article incorrectly referred to the Bell 407, KOMO-TV’s regular helicopter, as the one involved in the crash. The one involved in the crash was a Eurocopter AS350. The article has been corrected.
The helicopter model involved in the March 18 crash in Seattle, Wash. that resulted in the deaths of a pilot and KOMO-TV news camera operator has been involved in over 100 accidents worldwide since 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
READ MORE: 2 killed in helicopter crash in downtown Seattle
The Eurocopter AS350 helicopter is a single-engined light helicopter that has been in production since the ’70s.
Pilot Didier Delsalle landed a more powerful version, an AS350B3, on the top of Mount Everest in May of 2005, setting a world record for highest landing and highest take-off. Delsalle also rescued two climbers along the way.
In July of 2007 two AS350s collided midair in Phoenix as news stations KNXV-TV and KTVK were covering a police chase. Four people in the helicopters were killed.
An AS350 collided with a small plane over the Hudson River in August of 2009. There were no survivors.
READ MORE: A look at news helicopter crashes
While on a rescue mission in March of 2013, the Alaska State Troopers crashed an AS350 B3, killing all three people on board.
KOMO-TV’s regular helicopter, the Bell 407, also has a history of crashes. According to a report by NBC, the Bell 407 was being repaired and the Eurocopter was a temporary replacement.
The safety network, a service of the Flight Safety Foundation, lists 42 accidents involving Bell 407 helicopters in the United States and about 70 fatalities. Reasons cited range from takeoff complications to pilot error, engine failure and landing, among others.
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