Officials on Thursday released the names of the four people killed in the firefighting Blackhawk helicopter crash in May in Lake County.

What You Need To Know

  • The Medical Examiner's Office has released the names of the people killed in a helicopter crash in Leesburg

  • They were flying a firefighting helicopter during a training exercise when it went down near the airport

  • A preliminary investigation by the NTSB determined the snorkel swung "violently" and hit the tail or blades

  • RELATED: Snorkel likely hit rotor blades in Leesburg helicopter crash, NTSB reports

Robert Ray, 37; Ryan Ritchea, 35; Andrew Gray, 35; and Caleb Kupersmith, 30; died when a Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk crashed and exploded at Leesburg International Airport at 2:47 p.m. May 25.

The Medical Examiner’s Office released the names to Spectrum News on Thursday.

The agency had no information about the hometowns of the victims. But public records show that Ray was from Texas, Ritchea lived in California, Gray has an address in Citrus County, Florida and Kupersmith hailed from Boise, Idaho.

Before the crash, a hose used to pick up water called a snorkel violently whipped back and forth and likely hit the rotor blades, causing the helicopter to break apart over the airport, according to a preliminary crash report the National Transportation Safety Board released June 9.

It could take two years to complete the final report.

The snorkel and water tank were installed in the helicopter on May 17, the NTSB report says.

“Several days of ground testing and calibration were performed before the accident flight, which was the first flight after the” installation of the tank and snorkel, the report said.

“Witnesses reported that the helicopter made six uneventful passes in front of the operator’s hangar at [Leesburg International Airport] and dropped water that was picked up from a lake adjacent to the airport,” the report said. “On the seventh pass, an employee of the operator noticed the snorkel swinging.”

A witness said the snorkel was “violently” swinging. It hit the main rotor blades or the tail, according to the NTSB report, causing a loud boom.

“He then saw pieces, and then the tail section separating from the helicopter,” the report said. “The helicopter started to spin and fell below the tree line. He heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rise above the tree line.”

The tail rotor was found about 78 feet north of the main wreckage.

The aircraft is registered to Brainerd Helicopters at 8850 Airport Boulevard, which is the same address for Firehawk Helicopters, at Leesburg International Airport. Leesburg police originally said the helicopter was owned by “Brainerd Helicopters Inc./Firehawk Helicopters.” Officials at the time said the entities provide fire suppression and other services.

Messages to those entities were not immediately returned Thursday.