Officials have released the name of a pilot who was killed in a Friday afternoon helicopter crash in Newton County. He was 51-year-old Jason Wimberly, of Jackson, Mississippi. The aircraft was registered to Callaway Land Management in Lumberton. The crash happened off of Farm to Market Road 1414, about 6 miles northeast of Newton. Jason Wimberly’s brother, Michael Wimberly, released a statement following the death of his brother:
“My brother Jason has always been known as a crazy son of a b***h. Whether it’s driving a boat 60 miles per hour and jumping out of it… flying helicopters 50 feet above the ground or lighting a dumpster on fire and rolling it down the street. Today the helicopter he was flying missed its mark on the landing trailer and flipped over. The wild streak caught up with him, and I am sad to say that my parent’s son, my brother, and our beloved Uncle Jason won’t be coming home. Please keep us in your prayers. God Speed Captain Jason Wimberly”
The Texas Department of Public Safety later said that a person on the ground standing next to a fuel truck was injured when he was struck by one of the helicopter's landing skids. He was taken by ambulance to Jasper Memorial Hospital. His name has not yet been released. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will be conducting the investigation into the crash.
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