Crashed Chopper Carrying Drill Equipment
August 14th, 2008 | by mantrionline |Investigators say a helicopter was moving drilling equipment when it crashed northeast of Terrace yesterday, seriously injuring the pilot.
Bill Yearwood of the Transportation Safety Board is in Terrace, looking into the accident.
“We know it was moving a drill rig in support for mining exploration,” said Yearwood this morning. “(It) had completed a couple of lifts without any event and on the third lift, something happened to cause the helicopter to crash.”
Yearwood says the weather was not a factor and the senior pilot with Quantum Helicopters is very experienced.
The injured man has now been transported to hospital in Vancouver.
The wreckage of the Bell Long Ranger is now hanging from a steep slope at the headwaters of Legate Creek, and Yearwood says moving it could be tricky.
First, Yearwood says investigators will take photos from the air and devise a plan for removing the wreckage.
The helicopter went down around 11:00 yesterday morning.
A Buffalo rescue aircraft from CFB Comox was sent to the scene, but it was helicopters sent by Quantum that landed paramedics at the site and flew the injured pilot to hospital in Terrace.
