-- A local man who was killed in a helicopter crash in Arlington over the weekend was a well-known international volunteer who traveled the world to help others, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.
Ben Springer, 39, of Stanwood, was an ordained minister, a devoted volunteer and someone who always thought of others before himself, his family said.
Springer's sister said he recently returned from Cambodia, where he and his 13-year-old daughter volunteered to help build an orphanage. Before that, he helped the poor in Honduras.
They tell us Springer was teaching a flight student, when his helicopter, a Robinson 22, mysteriously crashed into a pasture near the Arlington airport, where they had just taken off.
"It's like the engine just went wide open, and then, there was a horrendous explosion."
It appeared that Springer and his student were killed instantly, the debris scattered over more than 100 yards.
Springer was also an experienced medical airlift pilot and a former television news helicopter pilot at KOVR-TV in Sacramento.
Springer leaves behind a wife and four children.