
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991                   TAG: 9103040256
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STAFFORD                                LENGTH: Short

TWO INJURED WHEN HELICOPTER NOSEDIVES

Two men were injured when their helicopter crashed into a wooded area in Stafford County, authorities said.

State police said the helicopter was en route from Clinton, Md., to California when it went down about 7 p.m. Sunday near Virginia 610.

The pilot was flying visually, then turned to instruments when the craft ran into clouds, police said. He apparently became disoriented and dropped too low into a wooded area. Trees cut off the tail rotor, forcing the helicopter into a nosedive, police said.

The pilot - Hagen Snoree, 24, of Alexandria - was treated at Mary Washington Hospital and released. A passenger - John Synstelien, 23, of Alexandria, was admitted to the hospital.

by CNB