A 39-year old Seattle helicopter pilot was injured today when he crashed in a holiday tree farm north of Woodburn.
Marion County Deputies Dale Huitt and Tom Barber received the call at 2:42pm, November 14th.
They arrived at the tree farm in the 10000 block of Crosby Road NE, east of Boones Ferry Road NE to find a 1981 Bell 206 helicopter lying on its side in a field of holiday trees. The Woodburn Police & Fire Departments were also on the scene and assisted with the initial treatment of the pilot. There was no fire from the crash.
A Lifeflight helicopter transported the pilot to the Oregon Health and Sciences University Hospital in Portland. The degree of his injuries is not known. There were no passengers in the helicopter at the time of the crash, and the workers on the ground were uninjured.
Witnesses reported that the pilot was hauling holiday trees for the landowner when his helicopter suddenly crashed to the ground. He was able to climb out of the wreckage. The helicopter appears to be a total loss.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived on the scene at 4:30pm and took charge of the investigation.
The name of the pilot, and the Oregon company for which he worked will be released once the FAA investigation is complete.
