Federal aviation authorities say there is no evidence that a helicopter that crashed in northeastern Pennsylvania earlier this month, killing two people, had any mechanical problems.

Helicopter accident in the Poconos
Helicopter accident in the Poconos (WFMZ TV)
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The National Transportation Safety Board says in a preliminary report that minutes before the Oct. 9 crash, a passenger had texted that they were "running late."

Authorities said the 2007 Bell 407 aircraft was flying in instrument weather conditions, meaning the pilot could not have seen the ground or horizon, before it went down in Coolbaugh Township.

Killed were 52-year-old pilot William Ellsworth, of Califon, N.J., and 51-year-old Tighe Sullivan, of Darien, Conn., were killed and a third man was injured. Officials said the three were on their way back from a golf outing in New York.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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