Helicopter Crashes in Travis County, Killing One

This map shows the area where a helicopter crashed around 12:25 pm today.

At least one person was killed after a small helicopter crashed this afternoon in the eastern Travis County community of Garfield. An eyewitness described the aircraft as having “disintegrated” mid-air, according to Austin-Travis County EMS spokesman Warren Hassinger.

“Fire rescuers and EMS personal arrived on the scene and pretty much confirmed that it was not a survivable crash,” Hassinger told KUT News. He said the victim was so badly burned that rescuers were unable to immediately assess a gender or approximate age.

Crews are conducting an aerial search of the area to determine if there is other debris or possibly other victims.

The crash happened at about 12:25 pm near the 3500 block of Victorine Lane, a road that runs off Caldwell Lane, about a mile north of SH 71.