Tighe Sullivan, Husband of Former Selectwoman Callie Sullivan, in Fatal Helicopter Crash [UPDATE]

Update 2:25 p.m.:

The Pocono Record has reported:

A truck driver said he saw the helicopter flying over Interstate 380 in just before it crashed about 100 feet from the road in what the local coroner's office has identified as a wooded state game preserve.

The first report of the crash reached local police at about 10 p.m., but they were initially unable to find the wreckage.

Stephen Barral, the lone survivor, called for help from his cell phone, allowing the U.S. Air Force and Monroe County Control Center to identify his location through GPS technology.

Updated throughout, 2:12 p.m.:

Tighe Sullivan, 51, husband of former Darien Selectwoman Callie Sullivan and founder and managing partner of WCAS Fraser Sullivan Investment Management L.L.C, lost his life in a helicopter crash near Mount Pocono Airport late Tuesday evening.

The crash occurred at about 8 p.m. and was located by police at 2:29 a.m. Wednesday, according to Bob Allen, the coroner for Monroe County in Pennsylvania.

Sullivan was one of three men in the aircraft, two of whom died, according to the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department. The aircraft crashed into woods in Coolbaugh Township.

In addition to his wife of 24 years, he leaves behind three children: Jesse, Lila and Tiger.

Pocono police believe the helicopter was traveling from the Elmira, NY, area and was headed towards the New York City metropolitan area.

Just before the crash, a passenger had been dropped off in Wilkes-Barre. The helicopter then experienced "poor weather conditions" in the Pocono area, according to a police news release (attached to this article) from Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry W. Lewis.

The helicopter pilot was "attempting to escape from the weather and land at the Mt. Pocono Airport," according to Lewis. "Sadly, the aircraft crashed approximately one mile from Mt. Pocono."

The pilot, William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, NJ, also lost his life in the accident. Sullivan was sitting in the front passenger seat. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner at 4:20 a.m. The coroner's office waited until 1 p.m. to release the names of the victims, after family members had been contacted.

A third man, Stephen Barral, who was sitting in the back passenger seat, was injured in the crash and transported to Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg, PA, then Lehigh Valley Hospital. Barral is from Bernardsville, NJ.

Pocono Mountains Muncipal Airport, in Monroe County, PA, is just north of Interstate 80, about 20 miles from the New Jersey border.

Federal Aviation Administration investigators have been to the scene of the crash for an initial investigation. Crash investigations typically are soon turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

(The Pocono Record reported on the crash.)

Calling hours and funeral—preliminary plans

Calling hours will be at the United Church of Rowayton, 210 Rowayton Ave., Norwalk, on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from  2 to 5 p.m., subject to change.

Please check the church website, or call  203-866-1415.  The funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Sunday at The United Church of Rowayton.  Reception is to follow at the Tokeneke Beach Club, 4 Butlers Island Rd.

Tighe Sullivan's career

Sullivan was a founder, managing partner and chief operating officer of WCAS Fraser Sullivan, with offices in Darien and Manhattan, according to the firm's website, which gave this account of his previous career:

Sullivan graduated with a bachelor's degree from Colgate University and started his career at Chase Manhattan in 1983. He worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1989, and from 1991 to 1993 he was a vice president at Dillon, read & Co., Inc. From 1993 to 1995, he was senior vice president at PaineWebber in high-yield sales.

He was a founding partner in the High Yield Group at First Union, which later became part of Wachovia, hiring and leading 30 professionals in high yield sales, trading and research. From 2000 to 2005, he was a managing director in high yield at Deutsche Bank.