Pilot in helicopter crash identified

Richmonder flew to Delaware to pick up passenger for Helo Air

Dec 15, 2006 BY JIM NOLAN TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Investigators continued yesterday to examine the wreckage of a commercial helicopter that crashed in a southern Delaware field Thursday, killing a Richmond pilot and a Maryland real estate developer.

The developer, Joshua Freeman, 42, was also one of 10 minority owners of the NHL's Washington Capitals and held smaller owner- ship stakes in the NBA's Washington Wizards and the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

Delaware State Police said the pilot, Alisa Howell, 30, had recently moved to Richmond to work for Helo Air in Sandston after a job with Maverick Helicopter in Las Vegas.

Howell had flown Thursday to Dagsboro, Del., to pick up Freeman and fly him to a corporate event in Washington that evening.

But moments after takeoff in foggy conditions, the 1998 Bell 407 that Howell was piloting lost altitude and crashed a quarter-mile away.

Howell was not instrument-rated on the helicopter, nor was the aircraft equipped for instrument flight, according to officials for the National Transportation Safety Board. But Howell was a licensed commercial rotorcraft pilot and was also certified as a rotorcraft instructor.

Officials said a preliminary report on the cause of the crash could be ready in a week. A final report could take up to a year.

Yesterday, officials at Helo Air remembered Howell with a tribute on the company's Web site.

"Alisa's professionalism was exceeded only by her enthusiasm for life and loving nature, which infected everyone around her," wrote Helo Air President Whit Baldwin.

"She was our colleague, pilot and, first and foremost, friend. She will be deeply missed."

Contact staff writer Jim Nolan at jnolan@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6061.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.souce