Flight instructor killed, student hurt in helicopter crash

A flight instructor was killed and a student was seriously injured when a helicopter crashed at Hayward Executive Airport on Monday, a city official said.

The student and the instructor, who worked for Pacific Helicopters flight school, were the only people in the helicopter, which went down around 2:30 p.m. while the two were practicing takeoffs and landings, city of Hayward public information officer Chuck Finnie said.

The instructor was pronounced dead at the scene by the Hayward Fire Department, Finnie said. The student was transported to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

The Hayward Police Department also responded to the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators who will be on the ground tomorrow, Finnie said. The accident site will be maintained so it can be investigated.

Finnie said he did not know who was flying the helicopter or who was in which seat at the time of the crash. The student’s condition also was not known, he said.

The crashed helicopter is a lightweight fourseat Robinson R44, Federal Aviation Administration public affairs manager Ian McGregor said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, from 2006 to 2016, R44s averaged 1.6 deadly accidents per 100,000 hours flown, a rate nearly 50% greater than any of the other 12 most common civilian models tracked by the FAA. Robinson Helicopter Co. denied that the model has safety issues.

The FAA will investigate the crash with the NTSB, McGregor said.

The Alameda County coroner said it was too early to provide information about the victim.