JG
September 25th 08, 10:21 PM
"KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) -- The jarring sound a helicopter made when it
crashed into a suburban home left neighbors shaken and confused,
telling 911 operators they heard a loud noise and saw flames but
didn't know what had happened.
"There was loud crash, boom. I thought it was lightning," one frantic
neighbor told an operator. "I don't know what it is."
Moments later she said, "Oh my God, the house next door is hit. We
don't know what it is."
.....
The helicopter, a 2006 four-seat Robinson R44, plunged through the
roof of the two-story Kenosha home about 5:30 a.m. Sunday as the
family slept. Parts from the aircraft came within feet of the
residents.
Noel and Carla Wilson and their children, ages 9, 6 and 2, were
sleeping in bedrooms on either side of the middle staircase when the
helicopter hit the home.
It wasn't clear how well the pilot could see.
"At that time of the morning, it's still dark out," said Lt. Edo
Maccari, of the Kenosha Police Department. "And the report I got said
there was heavy fog."
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation
and is the only agency authorized to talk to the media about the
case.
......
The crash killed Alan J. Sapko, a 54-year-old Kenosha businessman who
was certified as a pilot in 2006, and passenger Joan T. Anzalone, 45,
of Racine.
A temporary chain-link fence that encircles the home has become a
makeshift memorial, where flowers drooped under the morning sun
Tuesday.
Handwritten signs marked the passing of Anzalone. One read, "We love
you Joanie," and another said, "I love you Mom. You'll be with me
forever."
The house's front porch is in ruins, and shingles and debris are
strewn on the lawn next to the crumpled front door. Planks and
insulation litter the yard, and the front door and windows have been
boarded up.
A steady stream of drivers passed through the quiet neighborhood
Tuesday, about one to two cars per minute, each slowing down or
stopping for a closer look at the crash site before driving off.
Anzalone's family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday or
Thursday against the pilot's estate, said Louis Cairo, an attorney
with Goldberg Weisman Cairo in Chicago.
He said the complaint will allege Sapko was grossly negligent for
flying in the foggy weather conditions. Also named is Midwestern Air
Services LLC, the company under which Sapko registered the helicopter,
Cairo said.
Anzalone and Sapko were flying back from a concert at a casino in
Gary, Ind., at the time of the crash, he said."
crashed into a suburban home left neighbors shaken and confused,
telling 911 operators they heard a loud noise and saw flames but
didn't know what had happened.
"There was loud crash, boom. I thought it was lightning," one frantic
neighbor told an operator. "I don't know what it is."
Moments later she said, "Oh my God, the house next door is hit. We
don't know what it is."
.....
The helicopter, a 2006 four-seat Robinson R44, plunged through the
roof of the two-story Kenosha home about 5:30 a.m. Sunday as the
family slept. Parts from the aircraft came within feet of the
residents.
Noel and Carla Wilson and their children, ages 9, 6 and 2, were
sleeping in bedrooms on either side of the middle staircase when the
helicopter hit the home.
It wasn't clear how well the pilot could see.
"At that time of the morning, it's still dark out," said Lt. Edo
Maccari, of the Kenosha Police Department. "And the report I got said
there was heavy fog."
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation
and is the only agency authorized to talk to the media about the
case.
......
The crash killed Alan J. Sapko, a 54-year-old Kenosha businessman who
was certified as a pilot in 2006, and passenger Joan T. Anzalone, 45,
of Racine.
A temporary chain-link fence that encircles the home has become a
makeshift memorial, where flowers drooped under the morning sun
Tuesday.
Handwritten signs marked the passing of Anzalone. One read, "We love
you Joanie," and another said, "I love you Mom. You'll be with me
forever."
The house's front porch is in ruins, and shingles and debris are
strewn on the lawn next to the crumpled front door. Planks and
insulation litter the yard, and the front door and windows have been
boarded up.
A steady stream of drivers passed through the quiet neighborhood
Tuesday, about one to two cars per minute, each slowing down or
stopping for a closer look at the crash site before driving off.
Anzalone's family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday or
Thursday against the pilot's estate, said Louis Cairo, an attorney
with Goldberg Weisman Cairo in Chicago.
He said the complaint will allege Sapko was grossly negligent for
flying in the foggy weather conditions. Also named is Midwestern Air
Services LLC, the company under which Sapko registered the helicopter,
Cairo said.
Anzalone and Sapko were flying back from a concert at a casino in
Gary, Ind., at the time of the crash, he said."