This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mechanical issues are likely to blame for a fatal helicopter crash in North Salt Lake last week, where the main rotor came off, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Clause Hauer and Bruce Orr were in the Robinson R-44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof of a vacant business building at 501 W. 900 North on Dec. 2. Both men died.
According to the preliminary report, the two men were taking the helicopter on a "post-maintenance flight." The owner of the helicopter told officials that the purpose of the flight was to check the "track and balance" of the main rotor blades.
The helicopter crashed about 2,000 feet from the end of the runway at Sky Park Airport in Bountiful. Witnesses told NTSB authorities that they heard "popping sounds" and then saw the main rotor and the empennage — or tail assembly — separate from the helicopter.
"Several of the witnesses then saw the helicopter tumble in flight and impact the top of the building," the NTSB report reads. "The main rotor blade and empennage impacted the ground a few hundred feet from the impacted building."
The helicopter was registered to Native Range Capture Services Inc., out of Elko, Nev., and operated by Native Range Inc., which is based in Ventura, Calif. The company specializes in capturing and transporting wildlife, according to its website.
Hauer and Orr were in their 50s and 60s and lived along the Wasatch Front, according to police.
Rick Swisher, owner of Quicksilver Air Inc., told the Associated Press that the two men worked for an aircraft repair business and were taking a client's helicopter for a test flight when it crashed. Swisher employed Hauer as director of maintenance for his company, which specializes in helicopter support for wildlife capture.
The website of Precision Air Power, an aircraft repair and maintenance business, lists Hauer and Orr as co-owners. The business is at the Bountiful Skypark Airport, across the street from the two-story building where the helicopter crashed.
Twitter: @jm_miller