NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — Authorities on Monday released the names of four people whose bodies were found in a downed helicopter near Colusa on Sunday afternoon.
The Colusa County Sheriff’s Office on Monday identified the four individuals as William Bernard Vann, 67, Suzanne Marie Vann, 60, and Bobbie Lee Keaton, 62, all of Williams, and Charles Thomas Wilson, 71, of Rocklin.
William and Suzanne Vann are longtime almond growers in Colusa County and part of a family that has farmed there for more than a century.
The sheriff’s office said it received a report of the downed helicopter in the area of Highway 45 at Reservation Road at 1:15 p.m. Sunday.
Upon arrival, deputies and paramedics found all four people who had been riding in the helicopter dead, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation.
On Monday, an FAA accident report posted online said there was one crew member and three passengers on the helicopter, identified as a Robinson R66, a five-seater reported to have a top speed of 161 miles per hour and an engine manufactured by Rolls-Royce.
The description of the incident so far notes that the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.”
The information released by federal investigators has not stated who the pilot was.
However, the FAA’s aircraft registration showed the helicopter, which had been built in 2013, is registered to William Vann.
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Authorities identify victims in Colusa County helicopter wreck
- Elizabeth Larson
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