Originally posted on: Tuesday, Sept. 06, 2016, 5:41 p.m.

Three people are dead after a helicopter that departed from Orlando Melbourne International Airport crashed Tuesday afternoon in southwest Palm Bay, police said.

  • 3 killed in Palm Bay helicopter crash
  • Helicopter crashed at about 2 p.m. in southwest Palm Bay
  • People are asked to stay clear of area

The Palm Bay Police Department said it's a military-style helicopter, but it was civilian-owned. AAR Airlift Group confirmed that a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter "was involved in an accident," and there were three crew members aboard.

The crash happened about 2 p.m. in the area of Freeburg Avenue Southwest, between Sapodilla Road Southwest and Wingham Drive Southwest.

A public works employee said the helicopter was hovering about 500 feet and didn't appear to have engine failure or distress but was just descending. She said she then looked, and it hit the ground hard and burst into flames.

Palm Bay Police said they won't be releasing any more information until next of kin have been contacted.

"There is no threat to the general public at this time, but Palm Bay citizens are asked to stay clear of the area," said Lt. Mike Bandish, a spokesman for the Palm Bay Police Department.

According to Federal Aviation Administration information, the helicopter is registered to EP Aviation out of Illinois. That company is involved with assisting government and defense, but at this point officials said there’s no indication any sort of military training was being conducted when the helicopter went down.

The chopper’s registration shows it is a Sikorsky rotocraft manufactured in 1974, and it was last certified for use by the FAA in 2010, with that certification not expiring until the end of next February.

The National Transportation Safety Board has a team headed to Palm Bay.