Baltimore City Police Department, Maryland
End of Watch: Wednesday, November 4, 1998
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: 27 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: November 4, 1998
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Flight Officer Barry Wood was killed when the helicopter he was piloting crashed while searching for a stolen vehicle.
Prior to the crash, the observation officer had radioed to dispatch that there smoke coming from the engine of the Schweizer 300C helicopter. The helicopter crashed at the intersection of Pratt Street and Poppleton Street, near the entrance to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, as Officer Woods attempted to locate a safe location to land. The observation officer was pulled from the wreckage immediately and Officer Wood was freed by rescue workers.
He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries during surgery.
Officer Wood was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Baltimore Police Department for 27 years. He is survived by his wife.