KOMO helicopter crash

Federal investigators trying to determine the cause of Tuesday’s fatal crash of the KOMO news chopper said Thursday they will be examining the pilot’s recent history for factors that could contribute to fatigue. An NTSB leader said that officials want to understand how pilot Gary Pfitzner, who died in the Tuesday crash, balanced his two jobs — early mornings in the helicopter followed by work as a technical analyst at Boeing.

Federal investigators have returned to the scene of the KOMO news helicopter crash, examining a railing and trees for potential clues into what caused the fatal accident.

Federal investigators are reviewing a number of scenarios that could have caused the KOMO news chopper to crash Tuesday, killing the pilot and a photographer. “I’m confident we’re going to figure this out,” says the NTSB’s Dennis Hogenson.

The 38-year-old man who was injured on the ground when the KOMO News chopper crashed Tuesday in Seattle is continuing to improve. Harborview Medical Center reports Seattle resident Richard Newman was taken off a machine and is breathing on his own.

KOMO employees were working at their desks Tuesday morning when they heard tree branches snapping, then car horns sounding. They rushed to their windows and watched in horror as a helicopter carrying two of their colleagues burned. Then they jumped into action covering the tragedy.