ARLINGTON, Wash. - The pilot of a helicopter that crashed into a Snohomish County lake has died, according to a family friend.
The pilot and his passenger were rescued after the chopper lost altitude soon after taking off Tuesday afternoon and plunged into King Lake, about five miles southwest of Arlington.
The passenger was swimming toward a log after the crash and was pulled from the water by a local resident with a boat. The pilot was found floating face-down in the water.
Both were taken to a local hospital, where the passenger was listed in serious condition and the pilot was listed in critical condition.
The pilot later died, a family friend told KOMO News. His name has not yet been officially released. The family friend says he was 70 years old.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said it got reports that the helicopter had been up for 60 to 90 seconds when witnesses heard unusual noises.
Jeffrey Abrams told KOMO News that he watched the helicopter fly 6 to 10 feet above King Lake. Then the skids hit the lake, and the helicopter nose dived into the water, he said.
He asked his wife to call 911 and ran to get his oars for his small boat, but the helicopter had already gone under. He reached both men and was bringing them both to shore when emergency crews arrived and began CPR on the pilot.
There is no word yet what led up to the crash.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
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GRANITE FALLS, Wash.
Authorities say two men were injured in a helicopter crash northeast of Everett near Granite Falls.
The helicopter crashed just after 1 p.m. Tuesday into King Lake, a remote body of water in the woods east of Arlington.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says the helicopter was airborne for about a minute when neighbors said they heard a loud bang and called 911. Turned out the helicopter had crashed into the lake; firefighters and a dive team responded to the scene.
"It was a significantly loud bang, almost like an explosion. There was no fire or anything," said Dr. Jeffrey Abrams, a neighbor who rushed to the scene.
Abrams immediately launched his small boat and pulled the pilot from the water. The passenger was able swim to and grab onto the boat, and the neighbor pulled him to shore.
"I was there pretty quickly, about 7-10 minutes," said Abrams. "By the time I got the boat into the water and so forth, fairly hopeful that we could save them both. I don't know. That's up to the man upstairs."
Both pilot and passenger were taken to local hospitals; the passenger was reportedly in serious, but stable condition. The pilot was in critical condition.
The helicopter was an R-22, a two-seat helicopter.
Witness say the particular helicopter flies over the lake a couple times a year. They said it appeared the skid, which is underneath the helicopter, caught the water and flipped over.
NTSB is on scene and investigating, as well as the Department of Ecology to evaluate if any fuel spills.
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2 men injured in helicopter crash near Granite Falls
The Associated Press
October 24, 2017 6:22 PM
GRANITE FALLS, Wash.
Authorities say two men were injured in a helicopter crash northeast of Everett near Granite Falls.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says the helicopter crashed just after 1 p.m. Tuesday into King Lake.
The sheriff's office says the helicopter was airborne for 60 to 90 seconds when neighbors heard "strange sounds" and called 911. The helicopter then crashed into the lake. The passenger was able to swim to the shore and the pilot was rescued by a neighbor.
The sheriff's office says the pilot was in critical condition and a passenger was in serious, but stable condition. Both were taken to a hospital.
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ARLINGTON — A helicopter crashed into a lake south of Arlington on Tuesday, sending two men to the hospital.
The pilot was in critical condition, said spokeswoman Courtney O’Keefe with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
A passenger had serious injuries but was expected to survive.
Neighbors living near King Lake, a remote body of water in the woods east of Jordan Road north of Granite Falls, heard a strange noise around 1 p.m. as the helicopter took off. It was airborne for only about a minute, O’Keefe said.
Jeffrey Abrams saw the helicopter fly over the trees and across the water.
The private pilot regularly flies in the area, he said. Sometimes he will slow down and hover over the lake. This time, he was moving fast.
The helicopter flew unusually low. Abrams saw the skids hit the water, and the entire aircraft dove in.
“It was a significantly loud bang, almost like an explosion,” he said.
The injured passenger was able to swim away from the wreckage. However, the pilot was unconscious in the middle of the lake, Abrams said.
Abrams’ wife, Lillie, called 911 while he snagged life jackets and oars from their shed. He climbed into a dinghy and rowed out to the injured pilot. At that point, the helicopter was completely submerged.
Abrams was able to help both men back to shore.
Tuesday wasn’t the first time the couple has called for help after someone found themselves in trouble on the lake. Last year, a man in his 50s drowned after his canoe overturned.
The Department of Ecology sent crews to evaluate any fuel spills from Tuesday’s crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused the wreck.
Photographer Ian Terry contributed to this story.