A mid-air collision between a helicopter and a gyrocopter during a large air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, left two dead and two injured Saturday, authorities said.
Two other people were killed earlier in the day when a single-engine plane crashed into nearby Lake Winnebago, Capt. Lara Vendola-Messer of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said.
The two incidents occurred while the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh flight convention was taking place nearby.
The first accident happened around 9 a.m. that day, when a single-engine American T-6 Texan crashed into Lake Winnebago after leaving Wittman Regional Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This was off site for the air show.
The US Coast Guard for the Great Lakes Region confirmed that there were two on board and that their crews had located both people. He said the plane was reportedly conducting maneuvers before rapidly descending from about 3,000 feet.
Multiple agencies, including the Winnebago County Marine Units, the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office and the US Coast Guard responded to the scene of the morning accident.
The mid-air collision at the Wittman Regional Airport was reported around 1:30 p.m., according to the FAA.
The identities of the two deceased were not immediately available. The two injured people were stabilized at a hospital, organizers of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh said in a statement.
A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark airport after the Brazil-bound plane suffered a mechanical problem on takeoff.
It was unclear which patients came from which aircraft, described by the FAA as a Rotorway 162F helicopter and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyrocopter.
Gyrocopters look like small helicopters, but their propellers spin under the natural pressure of the surface, without the help of motors or electric motors.
The Experimental Aircraft Association said the helicopters belonged to event attendees.
Aircraft operations at the airport were temporarily halted after the afternoon collision and the afternoon air show was briefly delayed, organizers said.
Wittman-based EAA AirVenture Oshkosh wrapped up its week-long event on Sunday. The annual attraction features a fair-like atmosphere adjacent to airspace used to showcase vintage aircraft, state-of-the-art aircraft and pilot performances.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both incidents.
