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Pilot rescued from burning helicopter that crashed in woods in New Hampshire
People who heard a helicopter crash rushed to the site to help remove the pilot from the burning aircraft in a wooded area in central New Hampshire, police said Sunday.
The pilot was the helicopter’s only occupant when it crashed into a residential property in Merrimack County, the New Hampshire State Police said in a news release. He was “conscious, breathing and alert” when authorities from various agencies arrived and transported him to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center with “serious but non life-threatening injuries,” police said. The pilot was not identified
New Hampshire State Police via AP
The Hughes TH-55 helicopter went down Saturday afternoon about 30 miles northwest of the state capital, Concord, and caused a fire that was spreading to the woods before the arrival of firefighters, police said. An initial probe into the incident suggested that the pilot lost control of the helicopter near a landing site and subsequently crashed into the wood line of the property.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson said the helicopter will be moved to an offsite facility for further examination as part of its investigation. The NTSB is leading the investigation along with the Federal Aviation Administration. New Hampshire State Police have asked anyone who witnessed the crash to contact the Danbury Police Department.
The two-seater TH-55 Osage was originally used by the military as a training helicopter, taking flight for the first time in 1956, but many of them have since found their way into civilian use.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a bill banning adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal.
The Kremlin leader also approved legislation that outlaws the spread of material that encourages people not to have children.
The bills, which were previously approved by both houses of Russia’s parliament, follow a series of laws that have suppressed sexual minorities and bolstered longstanding conventional values.
Russian lower house Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who was among the new bill’s authors, said in a Telegram post in July that “it is extremely important to eliminate possible dangers in the form of gender reassignment that adopted children may face in these countries.”
The adoption ban would apply to at least 15 countries, most of them in Europe, and Australia, Argentina and Canada. Adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens was banned in 2012.
Other bills approved Saturday ban what they described as propaganda for remaining child-free and impose fines of up to 5 million rubles (about $50,000). Its proponents contended that public arguments against having children are part of purported Western efforts to weaken Russia by encouraging population decline.
Putin and other top officials in recent years have increasingly called for observing so-called traditional values as a counter to Western liberalism. As Russia’s population declines, Putin has made statements advocating large families and last year urged women to have as many as eight children.
Russia last year banned gender-transition medical procedures and its Supreme Court declared the LGBTQ+ “movement” to be extremist.
In 2022, Putin signed a law prohibiting the distribution of LGBTQ+ information to people of all ages, expanding a ban issued in 2013 on disseminating the material to minors.
Since he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin leader has repeatedly characterized the West as “satanic” and accused it of trying to undermine Russia by exporting liberal ideologies.
Independent journalists, critics, activists and opposition figures in Russia have come under increasing pressure from the government in recent years, intensifying significantly amid the conflict in Ukraine. Hundreds of nongovernmental groups and individuals have been designated as a “foreign agent” — a label that implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations.
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Dartmouth sorority, 2 members of fraternity face charges after student who went to party drowned
A sorority at Dartmouth College and two members of a fraternity are facing charges related to the death of a student who drowned after attending an off-campus party this summer.
Won Jang, 20, of Middletown, Delaware, had been reported missing in July after the party. State and local emergency responders searched the Connecticut River and found his body.
On Friday, police in Hanover, New Hampshire, where Dartmouth is located, announced that Alpha Phi has been charged with one count of facilitating an underage alcohol house. Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega were charged with providing alcohol to a person under 21.
The party was hosted by Alpha Phi sorority and alcohol was provided by Beta Alpha Omega. Most of those at the party were under 21. At the end of the party, police said several attendees decided to swim in the river. While at the river, a heavy rainstorm hit and most people left. Jang, whose family told authorities he could not swim, was left behind.
At the time of the incident, Dartmouth suspended the sorority and fraternity and those suspensions remain in effect. Jang was a member of Beta Alpha Omega.
“Dartmouth has long valued the contributions that Greek organizations bring to the student experience, when they are operating within their stated values and standards,” the college said in a statement. “These organizations, as well as all Dartmouth students and community members, have a responsibility to ensure Dartmouth remains a safe, respectful, equitable, and inclusive community for students, faculty, and staff.”
No one from Alpha Phi could be reached for comment.