Pilot killed in crash in California
 

REDLANDS, Calif. - A helicopter pilot was killed Monday morning when his aircraft crashed in an agricultural area shortly after lifting off from San Bernardino International Airport, police said.

The name of the 37-year-old pilot, who has been living in the United States for about a week, was not immediately released because family members in Japan had not been notified, said Redlands police officer Rodney Walters.

The pilot was flying a Robinson R22 helicopter to the French Valley area near Temecula on a routine flight, Walters said. No one else was on board the two-seat aircraft.

The official cause of the crash was still under investigation.

Witnesses said the helicopter had mechanical problems before crashing.

"They heard it sputtering, then fall to the ground," Walters said.

source

LA Times

Helicopter Crash in Redlands Kills Pilot
December 16, 2003

A Japanese man was killed Monday morning when his helicopter lost power and plummeted an estimated 300 feet onto a street in Redlands.

"There was no communication from the pilot; no radio contact of problems," said Redlands police investigator Rodney Walters. "Witnesses heard the engine cutting out. The engine shut off once, the pilot got it back on, but then [the helicopter] came over and just fell straight down out of the sky with no movement from the blades. They just collapsed upward as the helicopter dropped."

The crash occurred at 9:58 a.m. in the 2000 block of West Lugonia Avenue, a two-lane street. The site is less than half a mile north of Interstate 10 and about three-quarters of a mile from the amusement park Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom. The man had rented the helicopter in San Bernardino.

Tomoe Haruyama, president of Mentone-based Doxa Aviation Corp., said she bought the helicopter new for $160,000 two years ago.

Haruyama said she leased it to a flight school, Supersonic Aviation, which kept it at San Bernardino International Airport. The pilot was en route to French Valley Airport, near Murrieta.

A Supersonic Aviation employee at the crash site said the helicopter was well maintained and the pilot had a license to fly fixed-wing aircraft and a credential showing more than 60 hours of experience as a helicopter pilot.

Federal aviation officials are investigating the cause of the crash.

The coroner's office has not released the pilot's name.

News Quote from Above:"the pilot had a license to fly fixed-wing aircraft and a credential showing more than 60 hours of experience as a helicopter pilot."

Big Difference between a License and a Credential. I do believe the law says a License is required or validated Foriegn License.
Either way Im betting they certainly checked the validity of his Credit Card.....