Sunday, July 10, 2016

Pilot seriously injured after crop dusting helicopter crashes in east Wadell, AZ








Copyright 2016 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Chris Gros/ABC15



Helicopter down in Waddell; pilot status upgraded
Clayton Klapper
12:58 PM, Jul 10, 2016



WADDELL, AZ - The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office says deputies are on the scene of a helicopter down in Waddell Sunday afternoon.

It happened near Olive and Sarival avenues around 12:30 p.m.

MCSO says the pilot suffered life-threatening injuries and is being transported to the hospital.


UPDATE: MCSO is investigating the downed aircraft which has been confirmed to be a helicopter. Pilot sustained life-threatening injuries— Chris Hegstrom (@MCSOChris) July 10, 2016

Officials later upgraded the pilot's condition, saying he was expected to survive.

The helicopter is believed to be a crop-dusting helicopter.

No other people were believed to be onboard at the time. No word yet what caused the helicopter to go down, or the extent of the damage.


========================

Date:

10-JUL-2016
Time:12:30+
Type:Helicopter
Owner/operator:
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location:Maricopa County, east Waddell, AZ -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Agricultural
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted farm field terrain in Maricopa County north of Luke Air Force Base during an aerial application flight in east Waddell, Arizona. The helicopter sustained substantial damage and the sole pilot onboard received serious injuries.
Sources:
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-west-valley/litchfield-park/small-aircraft-down-in-waddell-pilot-has-minor-injuries
http://www.azfamily.com/story/32411155/mcso-helicopter-goes-down-in-west-valley