The pilot of an Atlanta Police helicopter was flying just 200 feet above the ground when the McDonnell Douglas OH-8 clipped power lines, crashed and exploded, according to a new report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The report is the first of two expected over the next month. It doesn't contain a conclusion about the November 3, 2012 crash that killed Atlanta Police Officers Richard Halford and Shawn Smiley. But former NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said this first report is nonetheless chock full of facts.
"This aircraft did strike power lines," said former NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker. "From that, it went into the ground and exploded and caught fire. We don't know why."

The safety board's conclusions will come next, Rosenker said, possibly coupled with recommendations for improving safety at the APD Helicopter Unit.

Halford and Smiley were searching for a little girl reported missing in West Atlanta. They had just entered the area and were flying at what witnesses described as "a very low altitude" just before it hit power lines and went down.

According to the NTSB report, the crew's Standard Operating Procedure called for them to fly no lower than 500 feet until they were cleared lower by a police supervisor on the ground. While most of the pilots questioned said they had not observed Halford flying too low, one pilot told investigators that, according to the report, "if any pilot in the unit had a tendency to fly low, it was the accident pilot."