A pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations has died following a helicopter crash in the community of Potrero late Monday morning.
“On December 16, a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircraft on a border security mission was involved in an aviation mishap in the vicinity of Potrero, California,” CBP said in an emailed statement.
“Tragically, a CBP Air Interdiction Agent — the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft — was pronounced deceased at the scene. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The federal agent was flying a Eurocopter AS350 that went down for unknown reasons about 10:15 a.m. off the 1800 block of Round Potrero Road, north of state Route 94 and roughly two miles south of Barrett Lake, according to Cal Fire and the Federal Aviation Administration.
No further details about the crash or the agent who was killed are available at this time.
City News Service contributed to this article. Updated at 8:23 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.
