7 killed in copter crash, including U.S. billionaire
NASSAU, Bahamas — Billionaire coal entrepreneur Chris Cline, who worked his way out of West Virginia’s underground mines to amass a fortune and become a major Republican donor, was killed in a helicopter crash along with six other Americans, his lawyer’s office confirmed on Friday.
Cline and his 22yearold daughter Kameron were on board the aircraft when it went down Thursday, said Joe Carey, a spokesman for attorney Brian Glasser, who planned to issue a family statement.
Leaders of industry, government and academics in West Virginia eulogized Cline as a coal industry visionary and a generous giver.
“He was a very farsighted entrepreneur,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “Chris was just one of those folks who had the Midas touch.”
Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.8 billion this year. Cline donated heavily to President Trump and other Republicans. Federal records show he gave the president’s inaugural committee $1 million in 2017 and spread thousands more to conservative groups as well as committees representing prominent Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
The bodies of the four women and three men were recovered and taken to the capital in Nassau to be officially identified, said Bahamas Police Supt. Shanta Knowles. The helicopter was still in the water, and based on preliminary information, she did not believe there had been a distress call before it went down.
A Royal Bahamas Police Force statement said authorities and local residents found the crash site two miles off Big Grand Cay, group of private islands Cline owned.
Aviation safety investigators in the Bahamas are working to determine the cause, said Jaime Nixon, an aviation safety analyst for the Air Accident Investigation Department of the Bahamas.