JASPER COUNTY, Ga. — Federal authorities confirmed Friday that a helicopter carrying three people crashed in Jasper County, killing all three.
Friday evening, the FAA released the names of the three victims.
They are pilot Alister Pereira, age 42, pilot Charles Ogilvie, age 46, and Carson McElheney, age 40. They are all from Atlanta.
Earlier in the day, law enforcement held a news conference at a Jasper County church.
13WMAZ went as investigators worked to figure out what caused the crash.
The crash happened about two miles from the Oconee National Forest. Cell phones and an emergency locator transmitter helped searchers locate the helicopter on Thursday.
Jasper County Sheriff Donnie Pope said rain and mud made the search for the helicopter difficult.
"There was very little fire associated with the crash, so we didn't have smoke to find the location, and then the terrain was very difficult," Pope said.
The FAA says the helicopter left Thomasville in south Georgia Wednesday and was heading northwest when it started to have trouble.
"During that flight towards the accident scene, there were low clouds and visibility and rain showers in the area at the time," Aaron McCarter with the National Transportation Safety Board said.
At Friday's news conference, McCarter called it a "high-energy" crash, and said the copter crashed about 125 feet though the trees before stopping, "Indicating that there was some ford velocity and speed associated with the accident."
The helicopter was owned by a Nashville company called Monarch Helicopters.
They give helicopter tours.
The helicopter made no stops, and authorities still don't know where they were headed or why they were flying.
McCarter said, "I can't factually say that this operator was being operated by that tour company in Nashville. Sometimes, it is much more complicated than that. There's letter of agreements, it can be wet leased back. It's something we need to determine at a later time."
Friday, recovery crews brought in a special piece of equipment called a Godzilla to help remove the copter.
Pope said it was an emotionally-difficult search.
"I think sometimes we get desensitized because we see and hear awful things, but members of those families were here talking to us like we are y'all, and it becomes very personalized. You try to stay and do your job, but you do get emotionally involved," Pope said.
The helicopter will be examined in Atlanta by NTSB, the Robinson Helicopter company which built it, and the Rolls Royce company, which produced the engine.
The national transportation safety board says their investigation may take as long as a year.