Headline a little misleading.. I think pilot error all the way.
Mark
Copter crash-lands after turned away from AF base
Aug 6, 3:09 PM EDT
DENVER (AP) -- A small civilian helicopter crash-landed Wednesday after the pilot was denied permission to refuel at an Air Force base. No one was injured.
The pilot asked to land at Buckley Air Force Base in suburban Aurora but was turned away because he did not declare an emergency, Buckley spokesman John Spann said.
"If he declared an in-flight emergency, then yes, he could come to Buckley and we could have gotten him gas," Spann said.
Freelance photographer Bill Ross said he and the pilot of the two-seat Engstrom 280FX aircraft had finished a commercial photo shoot near Denver International Airport and were returning to Centennial Airport when the engine sputtered and stopped.
"I'm surprised we're still alive," he said. "Alarms start going off and red lights start flashing, and I said 'What does that mean?'"
He said the pilot replied "'We're going to crash,' and I said 'Well, crash this thing right.'"
The helicopter dropped about 400 feet but landed upright, with heavy damage, in a field a few miles from Buckley, Ross said.
Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Kenitzer said the helicopter is registered to Beacon Aviation in suburban Lakewood. No phone listing could be located for Beacon.
Mark
Copter crash-lands after turned away from AF base
Aug 6, 3:09 PM EDT
DENVER (AP) -- A small civilian helicopter crash-landed Wednesday after the pilot was denied permission to refuel at an Air Force base. No one was injured.
The pilot asked to land at Buckley Air Force Base in suburban Aurora but was turned away because he did not declare an emergency, Buckley spokesman John Spann said.
"If he declared an in-flight emergency, then yes, he could come to Buckley and we could have gotten him gas," Spann said.
Freelance photographer Bill Ross said he and the pilot of the two-seat Engstrom 280FX aircraft had finished a commercial photo shoot near Denver International Airport and were returning to Centennial Airport when the engine sputtered and stopped.
"I'm surprised we're still alive," he said. "Alarms start going off and red lights start flashing, and I said 'What does that mean?'"
He said the pilot replied "'We're going to crash,' and I said 'Well, crash this thing right.'"
The helicopter dropped about 400 feet but landed upright, with heavy damage, in a field a few miles from Buckley, Ross said.
Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Kenitzer said the helicopter is registered to Beacon Aviation in suburban Lakewood. No phone listing could be located for Beacon.
