A 35-year-old man suffered minor injuries when a helicopter piloted by a 51-year-old man crashed Friday morning while it was being refilled with pesticides in a remote area in Valley Center, authorities said.
The Bell 206 helicopter went down around 7:10 a.m. near the intersection of McNally and Muutama roads, according to sheriff’s officials and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The 51-year-old pilot, uninjured in the crash, told deputies he was spraying an orchard with pesticide then went to refill the aircraft, Sgt. Michael Tingley said.
One person was hurt in a helicopter crash Friday morning in Valley Center in San Diego’s North County: https://t.co/oat9ZxEXWJ pic.twitter.com/imBCe4ZHHs
— #NBC7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) March 29, 2019
A 35-year-old man was helping to refill the helicopter with the chemicals when the crash happened, Tingley said.
The victim was airlifted to Palomar Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, the sergeant said.
The helicopter is registered to a small, Valley Center-based company called Hummingbird, Inc. Aerial Applicators, NBC7 reported.
The company — in business for 40 years — specializes in aerial agricultural application, according to the company’s website.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA were called in to investigate.
#NOW: a closer look at the wreckage site in Valley Center involving a Bell 206 helicopter. Pilot not hurt — but a nearby worker filling the aircraft with pesticide has a broken leg. @fox5sandiego pic.twitter.com/xZUk2cC7Rk
— Aric Richards (@AricFOX5) March 29, 2019
— City News Service
