Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
The wreckage of the downed helicopter was visible from a hillside south of Dayton.
Emergency vehicles lined up on South Touchet Road.
DAYTON - A helicopter spraying weeds along the South Touchet River south of Dayton flew into transmission lines and crashed Wednesday afternoon. The pilot of the Bell 206B helicopter, who has not been named, was the only occupant and was killed in the crash.
The crash occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. about six miles south of Dayton across the river from the South Touchet Road. Numerous emergency vehicles from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and Columbia County Fire District 3 were at the scene most of the afternoon.
According to a press release from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, North Wind Aviation of Zillah, Wash., owned the helicopter, and the pilot was from Yakima.
A sheriff's deputy at the scene said crews had to climb through challenging terrain to reach the crash site, which is on a steep hillside several hundred feet above the river.
The crash damaged the Bonneville Power Administration transmission line, which feeds Columbia REA. More than 800 Columbia REA electric customers in Columbia County were without power for nearly two hours after the crash.
According to the Sheriff's press release, the National Transportation Safety Board is taking over the investigation as of Thursday. They will be working with other agencies over the next few days to recover the wreckage and repair the transmission lines.
"The Times" will provide more information as this story develops.
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