Nation IN BRIEF : CONNECTICUT : Copter Undergoing Flight Check Crashes

A military transport helicopter undergoing a flight check before it was to be added to the White House fleet crashed and burned at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Conn., killing all four crew members. Dozens of people working nearby and passing motorists watched in horror as the huge helicopter labored above the company’s airfield, then dropped straight to the ground. The dead were all Sikorsky employees. The aircraft was to be assigned to a Marine unit at Quantico, Va., that provides support services for the White House. The helicopter, however, would not have been used to carry the president. The cause of the crash was not known.