A Tennessee Highway Patrol sergeant and a Marion County deputy died Tuesday in a helicopter crash Tuesday afternoon southwest of Chattanooga. THP Sgt. Lee Russell was the pilot and Marion County Sheriff's Office Detective Matt Blansett was a passenger.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports the Bell 206 helicopter hit a power line and crashed in a wooded area of Aetna Mountain near the Whiteside community, reports WRCB.
Both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the fatal crash.
Blansett also was a Marion County commissioner, according to WTVC.