Freelance photojournalist Bill Strothman was killed on March 18, 2014 when the news helicopter that he was aboard crashed in downtown Seattle. Reuters reported that a Seattle Fire Department spokesman said the helicopter appeared to have fallen to the street as it attempted to take off from a helipad at the top of a television news station. Witnesses reported an “unusual noise” coming from the helicopter. Television station KOMO, an ABC affiliate, said the aircraft was one of its helicopters. The station told Reuters that Strothman, 62, had retired from the station but continued working as a freelancer. Helicopter pilot Gary Pfitzner, 59, who worked for a company that operated the helicopter for KOMO, was also killed in the crash.