Rotors fly as video captures police helicopter crashing during takeoff

A police helicopter smashed into the ground in Little Rock, Ark. on Aug. 16, causing the rotors to snap off and fly into the air.

According to authorities, pilot and retired officer William Denio was seriously injured when the helicopter crashed at 11400 Ironton Rd., just south of Little Rock off I-530.

A video released on Aug. 21 by the Little Rock Police Department showed how the crash occurred.

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The video posted on the Little Rock Police Department’s Facebook page shows the Bell TH-67 Creek helicopter on a platform at a police training facility with its rotors turning. The chopper and the platform start to move as the helicopter pitches and fails to gain altitude.

A man then comes out of a building, seeming to signal the pilot to land, as the helicopter’s skid catches the edge of the platform and the craft rolls. The rotor touched the ground and broke apart.

The Little Rock Police Department said a straight-line wind forced the chopper off the platform.

— With files from AP