A man has died after the helicopter he was in crashed into a riverbank north of Maitland.
Emergency services were called to Campbells Road at Maitland Vale at about 4:20pm yesterday after reports a helicopter had crashed.
Crews arrived to find a Bell ‘Jet Ranger’ helicopter crashed on a nearby riverbank.
One male occupant was located deceased; he is yet to be formally identified.
Port Stephens-Hunter Police District have established a crime scene and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) have been notified and will conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
It’s one of a number of crashes that have happened in the area around Maitland Airport over the years.
A number of vintage planes have crashed near Luskintyre including in 2014 and 2018 and pilot Andy Shepherd was sadly killed in 2020 when his homemade ultralight plane crashed.