Pilot lacked a helicopter rating

NTSB continues to review Argyle crash that killed two people

The local man who died with his daughter when his helicopter crashed on Aug. 7 did not have a rating to fly the experimental craft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s initial investigation of the crash.

The NTSB said noted Craig Seeley had a private pilot’s certificate that allowed him to fly single-engine planes but not the needed rating to fly his helicopter for personal or recreational use.

Seeley, 56, and his daughter, Katie M. Seeley, 34, who was also from Argyle, died after the helicopter went down in a wooded area near Summit Lake.

Seeley was flying his Rotorway Exec 162F when the craft fell from the sky shortly after 6 p.m. The NTSB said Seeley owned and built the helicopter, completing its construction in May 2003.

The NTSB’S preliminary report said a witness who was about a half mile from the crash scene said he noticed the helicopter flying about 50 to 70 feet above the ground. He told investigators he believed the craft was “having issues, as (it) could not stay up in the air, it was almost like it was bouncing.”

Moments after the helicopter flew over a tree line, the witness said he heard a “loud sound” and “watched the (rotor) just stop” before the craft “fell straight down.”

The helicopter’s debris path stretched 400 feet, according to the report. The vehicle came to rest down an embankment in woods just outside Fort Edward, at the intersection of West Valley Road and Lick Springs Road, and caught fire. Pieces of the craft were scattered along the path, the report said.

The report offers a breakdown of damage to the craft but does not reveal a cause.

Seeley lived on a mountaintop overlooking Summit Lake, a close-knit lakefront community of seasonal homeowners and year-round residents. Online records show Seeley was the registered owner of several businesses, including an equipment rental company and Seeley Machine.