Helikopteruhellene fortsetter i USA

Helicopter crashes in river; Pilots escape without injury

 

 

Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Kennedy carries rescue rope bags from the scene of a helicopter crash in the Clark Fork River on Friday afternoon northwest of Missoula. Neither of the two pilots were injured.

A firefighting helicopter practicing bucket drops in the Clark Fork River crashed into the water Friday afternoon, requiring one pilot to swim to shore while emergency crews assisted the second to safety.

The Missoula Rural Fire District responded to reports of the downed helicopter shortly after 1 p.m. Witnesses living at the Wagon Wheel Trailer Court - off Big Flat Road northwest of Missoula - saw the aircraft go down behind a bank of cottonwood trees and enter the river.

"There was one pilot still inside the helicopter when we arrived," said Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Kennedy. "The other pilot was on the shore across the river."

Kennedy said both occupants were safe and suffered no injuries in the crash. Officials said it was unknown what caused the helicopter to go down, although Kennedy said the pilot reported mechanical troubles.

The helicopter, identified as Bell model 206L-3, is apparently owned by a company in Lewiston, Idaho. The pilot was working to earn his annual U.S. Forest Service recertification to conduct bucket work on wildfires.

"The pilot said he was doing a recertification with the Forest Service to keep up his license," Kennedy said. "That's what they were doing today."