Pilot killed when helicopter assisting with wildfire crashes in Coalinga area
A pilot was killed in a helicopter crash near Coalinga on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor, the Bell UH-1 helicopter was helping with firefighting efforts at the Hills Fire when for unknown reasons it crashed around 10 a.m., about 11 miles south of New Coalinga Municipal Airport.
The crash caused a new brush fire, Gregor said.
The pilot was the the only person aboard the helicopter, Cal Fire said. He was identified Thursday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office as Michael John Fournier, 52, of Rancho Cucamonga.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said the department’s search and rescue team reached the helicopter at 8:30 p.m. and brought Fournier’s body to the Coroner’s Office at 11 p.m. He said the recovery effort in rugged terrain west of Highway 33 near Sutter Avenue took 6 1/2 hours.
Cal Fire spokesman Seth Brown said the helicopter was making water drops and crashed in a remote area.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will determine the probable cause of the crash.
The Hills Fire ignited Aug. 15 and had grown to 1,500 acres and 35% containment as of Cal Fire’s most-recent update Thursday morning.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
