In deadly Baton Rouge police helicopter crash, air traffic control tower was likely unmanned

When the Baton Rouge Police helicopter crashed early Sunday morning, killing two officers, the air traffic control tower was probably unmanned, according to FAA information about the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.

The tower is normally unstaffed between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m., according to a Federal Aviation Administration report on the Baton Rouge airport earlier this year; the crash happened around 2:30 a.m.

Police have given few details about the crash or the pursuit beforehand. The officers have not been publicly identified; BRPD has said it is trying to notify family members. 

A preliminary FAA report found that the helicopter’s tail rotor hit a tree, causing it to crash upside down. 

The lack of an air traffic controller could help explain why it apparently took several hours for first responders to arrive at the scene of the crash, a sugar cane field off North Winterville Road, near U.S. 190 at Erwinville. The West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said it was informed of the crash around 10:48 a.m. and found FAA officials already at the scene. The coroner’s office removed the pilots’ bodies around 3:30 p.m.