Grandfather confirms identities of Pigeon Forge helicopter crash victims

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (WVLT) — Butch Rasmussen tells our sister nation, KNOP, that two of the people on board the helicopter that crashed in Sevier County are his grandchildren.

Butch Rasmussen says their names are Parker Rasmussen, 18, and Peyton Rasmussen, 22. He says their mother, Johna Morvant, was also killed. The fourth passenger and the pilot have not yet been identified.

Neighbors tell Local 8 News that Morvant’s new husband was out of town. He is on the way back to East Tennessee now.

Butch Rasmussen says the children were living in North Carolina and were visiting their mother when they took a helicopter sightseeing tour at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The fifth victim was the pilot.

The helicopter crashed Monday at about 3:30 p.m. It went down near Rainbow Road.

A preliminary report should be available next week.

*Photo via WVLT