Pilot killed in B.C. helicopter crash
Jamie Komarnicki, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, February 08, 2008
CALGARY -- A helicopter carrying nine people on a heli-skiing trip in southeastern British Columbia crashed Thursday afternoon, killing the pilot.
The helicopter was on its way back to the Purcell Helicopter Skiing Ltd. base in Golden, B.C., just before 3:30 p.m. when it lost altitude.
It hit the ground with what the RCMP termed "sufficient force to have the blades break off" its rotor.
Six passengers - four from outside B.C. and two from outside Canada - walked away uninjured from the wreck, which remained upright.
However, two Purcell staffers from Golden, about 250 kilometres west of Calgary, were hospitalized.
One was released, but one was later flown to a Calgary hospital by air ambulance.
The pilot, a 44-year-old man from Revelstoke, B.C., died at the scene in the Canyon Creek area.
Revelstoke is about 150 kilometres southwest of Golden.
The pilot's name hasn't been released.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, which will involve Transport Canada.
"It's always very sad when anyone dies out there in the mountains," said Golden Mayor Jim Doyle.
"It's sad for the family that has lost the loved one."
Helicopters from the Golden area flew to the scene to aid in the rescue, but severe weather prevented authorities from recovering the pilot's body.
Teams are scheduled to return Friday.
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing that is accessed by helicopters.
According to its website, Purcell Helicopter Skiing is a small company with more than 30 years experience in skiing and snowboarding.
A company spokeswoman declined comment when reached by telephone Thursday.
Last spring, two heli-skiers died in an avalanche in northern B.C.
Daisuke Matsui, 27, a tourist from Shibuya, Japan, and 24-year-old Kimberly Manchip, who worked for Last Frontier Heliskiing company, died April 2, 2007.
The avalanche occurred in an area known as Delta Peak.
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