A helicopter made a crash landing into a river Friday while recertifying for water bucket operations near Missoula, Montana. The Missoulian, which has a photo of the Bell 206L-3 sitting upright in three feet of water, reported that it crashed into the Clark Fork River off Big Flat Road west of Missoula. (Another photo.) The article said the pilot, who reported a mechanical failure, and a passenger both survived the crash. The passenger got to shore on his own, while rescuers got the pilot out of the ship and to safety.
The N number on the helicopter is under water and not visible in the photo but the Missoulian article said the helicopter is owned by a Lewiston, Idaho company.
The helicopter sitting in the river has a paint job similar to those at Hillcrest Aviation, based in Lewiston, Idaho.
Thanks go out to Dick and Chris
That man deserves an OAS card signed off pronto!
From what appears….a VERY nice autorotation
Well done, SIR!!!
Glad to hear that they are ok, helicopter parts a cheap compared to the crew. A helicopter pilot friend of mine told me that ” A good helicopter pilot is always looking for a place to land from the time they take-off, because you never know when Murphy is going to show up and try to wreck your day”