The Idaho Statesman
Distributed by Knight/Ridder Tribune News Service
Copyright 2006 The Idaho Statesman
Four people, including three Payette National Forest employees on fire-suppression duties, died Sunday in a helicopter crash about 18 miles west of Yellow Pine.
A contract pilot was ferrying the employees to the Krassel Guard Station when the single-engine A Star helicopter crashed about 5 p.m. on the South Fork Salmon River Road, Payette National Forest spokesman Boyd Hartwig said.
Hartwig would not disclose the duties of the forest employees Sunday night to avoid identifying the people before next of kin are notified.
The cause of the crash was not known Sunday night, he said.
The crash was discovered at 5:28 p.m. by a member of the Eastern Area Fire Use Management team who was driving on the road, Hartwig said.
All four people aboard were apparently dead when they were discovered, he said. The crash started a fire, which was suppressed by a responding fire engine, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash; representatives of both agencies are expected to arrive in McCall today, Hartwig said.