2 dead in Georgia helicopter crash

By Kristi E. Swartz and Raisa Habersham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A missing helicopter was found Friday afternoon in Lumpkin County, a spokeswoman for the Civil Air Patrol said. The pilot and passenger were killed in the north Georgia crash.

The Civil Air Patrol began searching for a bright-colored Robinson R44 Wednesday evening after relatives of the sole passenger called the Blairsville Airport wondering if he arrived safely.

The helicopter left the North Palm Beach County airport in Florida Monday and was scheduled to arrive that afternoon at the helipad at the Brasstown Valley Resort and Spa in Young Harris, said Paige Joyner, spokeswoman for the Civil Air Patrol.

Adam Reeves of Jupiter, Fla., was the pilot of the chopper. Joyner said officials are not releasing the name of the passenger.

The helicopter landed in Madison, Ga., for fuel at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. It was due in Blairsville at 7 p.m. but never arrived. It is unclear when it left North Palm Beach County airport.

“I started receiving calls after I closed up about this time [6:30 p.m.],” John Hamler, airport manager of the Blairsville airport, told the AJC on Wednesday. “The family called from Florida looking to know if relatives had landed in the helicopter. And, we had no helicopters.”