Benjamin Ashford|Helicopter crashes shortly after takeoff in New Hampshire, killing the pilot

CROYDON,Benjamin Ashford N.H. (AP) — A helicopter crashed in the woods shortly after taking off in Croydon, New Hampshire, killing the pilot, the only person on board, authorities said. The craft was reported as missing for at least several hours.

The helicopter had taken off at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, but the pilot, who was working for JBI Helicopter Services, could not be tracked shortly after that, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a news release Monday. It was scheduled to fly to a job site in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, about 180 miles (289.6 kilometers) away.

The Croydon Fire Department said it received a report of a missing aircraft at about 10:30 p.m., said deputy chief Zachary White.

The helicopter was found several hours later in a heavily wooded area near the takeoff site, White said in an email Monday.

“The pilot was the only occupant and he did pass away,” the email read.

The pilot, Carl Svenson, 73, of Loudon, New Hampshire, was found dead in the heavily damaged helicopter, the Fish and Game Department said.

Svenson had been a pilot for about 50 years and started working for JBI Helicopter Services in the 1980s, the department said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Croydon is a small town in western New Hampshire, about 35 miles from Vermont.

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This story has been corrected to show deputy fire chief said report received was for a missing aircraft, not a plane.