Two die after helicopter crashes into home

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Federal investigators say it will take about a week to release their initial findings, after a helicopter crashed into a house in Kenosha early Sunday.

The pilot and his girlfriend were killed and amazingly, five family members who were all sleeping on the second floor were not hurt.

Witnesses heard the chopper’s engine sputter, just moments before the crash.

They said the rotor blades sliced through the house, tumbled down a stairway, crashed out the front door, and came to rest in a neighbor’s driveway.

Killed was 54-year-old Alan Sapko of Mount Pleasant and his girlfriend Joan Anzalone, 45.

Sapko was investigated last year, after federal agents were told that his company put “Made in the USA” tags on foreign-made jeans.

Agents seized more than 230,000 pairs, but Sapko and his company were never charged.

Carla Wilson said God spared her family – including her husband, Nate, and their kids, ages 2, 6 and 9. She said the chopper just narrowly missed them as they were jarred awake.

The crash happened about a mile south of Kenosha’s airport. The chopper was owned by a Kenosha firm that offers charter flights and training.

It did not have a flight plan on file.

Nate Wilson will take time off from his job at Abbott Industries. Carla says her two sons will be back in school today to maintain some sense of normalcy.

Tags: wisconsin news, helicopter, crashes, home