Time Out
19th Nov 2003, 23:33
DAN DE CARBONEL
Statesman Journal
November 19, 2003
MONMOUTH — A pilot loading freshly cut Christmas trees into a truck near Monmouth escaped serious injury Tuesday afternoon when his helicopter crashed on a dirt road.
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/photo/pl25468.JPG
The crash was reported at 2:54 p.m. at the Holiday Tree Farm at Brateng and Elkins roads, about three miles south of Monmouth.
The helicopter pilot, Dan Foster, 48, of Napavine, Wash., told witnesses that he was experiencing back pain after the two-person helicopter crashed from a height of about 30 feet.
Foster was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Corvallis, where he was in fair condition Tuesday night.
The helicopter came down on its skids, but the force of the crash broke the main rotor and shattered its canopy. Small pieces of debris were scattered up to 15 yards away.
Deputy Chief Darrell Patterson of Polk County Fire District No. 1 said that the crash caused a small fuel spill that was contained and did not ignite.
Dave Schudel, one of the owners of the tree farm, said Foster is an experienced pilot who operates his own helicopter service.
“He’s one of our ace pilots,” Schudel said. “We’ve been doing business together for three years.”
Sgt. Kevin Haynes of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that an investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration in Portland was en route to the crash site.
Witnesses reported that Foster said he felt a power decrease in the tail rotor, causing the helicopter to spin and Foster to lose control.
Two tree-farm employees were in the cab of the truck being loaded. They were not hurt.
source (http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=71079)
Statesman Journal
November 19, 2003
MONMOUTH — A pilot loading freshly cut Christmas trees into a truck near Monmouth escaped serious injury Tuesday afternoon when his helicopter crashed on a dirt road.
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/photo/pl25468.JPG
The crash was reported at 2:54 p.m. at the Holiday Tree Farm at Brateng and Elkins roads, about three miles south of Monmouth.
The helicopter pilot, Dan Foster, 48, of Napavine, Wash., told witnesses that he was experiencing back pain after the two-person helicopter crashed from a height of about 30 feet.
Foster was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Corvallis, where he was in fair condition Tuesday night.
The helicopter came down on its skids, but the force of the crash broke the main rotor and shattered its canopy. Small pieces of debris were scattered up to 15 yards away.
Deputy Chief Darrell Patterson of Polk County Fire District No. 1 said that the crash caused a small fuel spill that was contained and did not ignite.
Dave Schudel, one of the owners of the tree farm, said Foster is an experienced pilot who operates his own helicopter service.
“He’s one of our ace pilots,” Schudel said. “We’ve been doing business together for three years.”
Sgt. Kevin Haynes of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that an investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration in Portland was en route to the crash site.
Witnesses reported that Foster said he felt a power decrease in the tail rotor, causing the helicopter to spin and Foster to lose control.
Two tree-farm employees were in the cab of the truck being loaded. They were not hurt.
source (http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=71079)