LEESBURG, Fla. — All four crew members of a Sikorsky UH-60 firefighting helicopter were killed after a fiery crash into a swamp near Leesburg International Airport, police said Wednesday.

The fiery crash happened at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, and the body of one crew member was found soon after first responders arrived.

Rescue operations continued until just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, but "due to various hazards present at that time," the other bodies were not found, Leesburg Police Capt. Joe Iozzi said. The investigation continued Wednesday.

Their identities have not been released.

Witnesses reported the chopper spun out of control after the tail snapped off, scattering debris over a runway, Iozzi said. 

The rest of helicopter crashed into an airport swamp.

The helicopter, also known as a Black Hawk, was on a training exercise when it went down near the airport off U.S. Highway 441 in Lake County, roughly 35 miles northwest of downtown Orlando.

The chopper is owned by a private company that operates out the Leesburg airport and provides fire-suppression services across the country, Iozzi said.

On Wednesday, the Leesburg Police Department confirmed that it was a Firehawk helicopter that crashed, which has a facility at the Leesburg Airport.

The U.S. Forest Service plowed through the swamp, knocking down trees with bulldozers, to clear a line around the fire and help prevent the spread of flames.

"Crews are still on scene mitigating hazards," Leesburg Fire Rescue said on Facebook after 9 p.m. "The crash appears to be a total loss. No survivors have been located. ONE confirmed death at this time. Most of the fire is under control now."

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, according to Rick Breitenfeldt, a public affairs specialist for the FAA.

"The FAA will release the aircraft tail number once investigators verify it at the scene," he added. "The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and all updates."

NTSB officials have been dispatched to Leesburg, agency spokesman Eric M. Weiss told Spectrum News late Tuesday.

"We’ve sent investigators," Weiss said. "They will examine the wreckage, crash site, take measurements and photos, interview any witnesses."

NTSB could release a preliminary crash report within two weeks.

"The cause for the crash comes out at the end of the investigation, which could take 1-2 years," Weiss added.

NTSB does not identify victims. That's a job for local officials, Weiss said.

Leesburg International Airport has two runways and is located south of U.S. 441.

The Lake Harris Conservation area is south of the airport.

Three water bodies, Lake Griffin, Lake Harris and Silver Lake are near Leesburg International Airport. It has roughly 60,000 aircraft takeoff and landings annually.

The Sikorsky UH-60 firefighting helicopter is one of several configurations of the chopper commonly known as the Black Hawk, according to Lockheed Martin Corp.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, said the UH-60 comes in three models.

The largest, the UH-60M, can carry four people and weighs 12,511 pounds without crew members.

Pilot: Black Hawks not plagued with any major failure 

According to a former Black Hawk pilot, this type of helicopter is a very reliable aircraft, and when something goes wrong its typically because of human error.

In the early 2000’s Adam Reid flew Black Hawk helicopters for the U.S. Army both in the states and overseas. Now he owns Helicopter Performance Solutions, a school in Jacksonville. 

“This is not an aircraft that is plagued with any major failure,” Reid explained. “Any aircraft is going to have its mechanical problems but this is not one.”

And it is not one for commercial use either. According to aviation experts, the U.S. Army is the primary user of this type of helicopter.

As the NTSB looks into into the cause of the crash, Reid who is familiar with the aircraft, shared the questions he would be asking.

“What was the aircraft doing before this took place?” Reid said. “And certainly the maintenance history of that aircraft.”

Andre Connan is the owner of Kool Breeze Helicopters, and has been flying helicopters for over 20 years. He says that as soon as something does go wrong in the air, a pilot must act quickly.

“If you do what is in your emergency procedures and gain air speed and get out of that, you can,” Connan said. “It is hard, but you can, but the question is did he react very quickly.” 

The helicopter, which was being used for a firefighting training exercise, is designed to handle excess weights for those type of missions. 

“Troop transport, sling loads, it is designed to do what the fire fighting needs,” Reid said. “It can lift the weight. It can lift an excessive amount and lift excessive weight.” 

The Blackhawk helicopter has been around since the 1970’s. Currently there are about 3,000 in use in the U.S.