Freak Helicopter Accident

[vonVeezelsnider]

Had a helicopter crash up here in Canada a while back- a pedestrian was killed when a helicopter burst into flames and fell to the streets, landed right on top of him- the eerie part is that he was listening to an iPod really loud and was completely oblivious to what was going on...

CRANBROOK, B.C. - The family of the pedestrian killed by a falling helicopter in Cranbrook last week is urging government authorities to make speedy compensation payments to those involved in the freak accident.

Dalmas Otieno, who is Kenya's minister for public services, spoke to the media Wednesday in Cranbrook about his 20-year-old son Isaiah Otieno's sudden death last week when a Bell 206 Jet Ranger, operated by Bighorn Helicopters Inc. and carrying a BC Hydro crew, fell from the sky and killed him.

Otieno said his son's death was accidental but, as a result, the family has had to contend with unexpected costs, such as funeral planning. The compensation Otieno is calling for should be above and beyond those costs, he added.

Otieno would not name a dollar figure.

"We all know that no amount of compensation can restore the loss we endure, but we look forward to an honest, transparent and expedited settlement of all claims arising from the lives lost in this terrible accident," Otieno said.

The minister praised all levels of government for their support to date and thanked the College of the Rockies - where his son was a student - for its kindness in the family's time of need.

He added the family was pleased to learn that so many people had come to like Isaiah in his time in B.C.

"Instead of feeling guilty that we brought our son too far away, we were happy to know that we brought him in a community that was welcoming and in which he was fairly happy."

Pilot Edward William Kyle Heeb, 57, along with BC Hydro workers Dirk Bentley Rozenboom, 45, and Robert William Lehmann, 37, also died in the crash on May 13.

Isaiah Otieno moved to Cranbrook two years ago to study business at the College of the Rockies. He was on his way to mail a letter to his parents in Kenya at the time, Isaac Hockley, a close friend, said last week.

Hockley said Otieno usually wore headphones while walking, which might explain why he didn't hear the drone of the low-flying aircraft and failed to move out of the way in time.

The town wasn't always kind to him, but Otieno enjoyed living in the Kootenay city, said Hockley.

"He's six foot nine, he's black . . . It's hard in a redneck town like this," he said.

But Otieno "had a passion for this place and the mountains here."

Hockley also said Otieno aspired to one day make a difference in his homeland - just as his father has done.

"He always wanted to fill his dad's shoes."

Otieno had been working as a bouncer at a Cranbrook lounge until last December.

Meanwhile, Transport Canada will examine whether the helicopter was flying lower than regulations permit, said spokesman Rod Nelson last week.

Helicopters must be 1,000 feet above ground when flying in residential areas, but exceptions can be made when special permission is granted, said Nelson.

The chopper - operated by Bighorn Helicopters - appeared to hang in the air before it banked to the left and then plummeted to the street around 1:15 p.m. local time.

It had been on a routine inspection of transmission lines in remote areas outside Cranbrook at the time, said B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Susan Danard.

Following the crash on the quiet residential street lined with single-family homes and apartment buildings, Heeb was hailed as a hero.

"That pilot saved lives by not crashing into the apartments. Whatever he did, he did it right," resident Fred Schindel, who watched the helicopter for about 10 minutes before it crashed, said last week.

Bill Yearwood, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, said there is evidence the pilot may have been attempting to prepare for an emergency landing before the crash.

The initial investigation shows the helicopter was operating within what aviation specialists call the "dead man's curve," a combination of low altitude and slow speed that generally prevents the successful safe landing of a helicopter in the event of a power loss.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Otieno said his son's death was accidental but, as a result, the family has had to contend with unexpected costs, such as funeral planning. The compensation Otieno is calling for should be above and beyond those costs, he added.

I feel bad for these people, but seriously...

Otieno would not name a dollar figure.

because his lawyer instructed him not to.

"He's six foot nine, he's black . . . It's hard in a redneck town like this," he said.

Ya gotta love the society we live in.

It's not acceptible to even call black people "black" anymore, yet this guy can insult an entire town and it's perfectly "P.C." Hell, he should've just came out and made a racist comment since that was the root of it, after all.

People that it is acceptible to criticize in the new P.C. society. 1) "rednecks" 2) midgets 3) old people and 4) domestic drivers.

It had been on a routine inspection of transmission lines in remote areas outside Cranbrook at the time, said B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Susan Danard.

That's always eerie (to me) anyway, when helicopters are flying that low. I've actually been able to wave at people in them before when they're flying over lines.

This is just one of those bad situations that you hate to see happen.

Edited May 22, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[Sixty8panther]

Does it mean I'm going to hell since I laughed at the iPod part.

[ocnblu]

I was hoping this was another thread about that small Russian helicopter that crashed recently.

[RBB]

[off topic]

4) domestic drivers.

[/off topic]

-RBB

[Lamar]

It's not acceptible to even call black people "black" anymore, yet this guy can insult an entire town and it's perfectly "P.C." Hell, he should've just came out and made a racist comment since that was the root of it, after all.

I'm gonna go on record by saying that you can call me "Black." It saves time.

Back on topic... the guy didn't notice the huge shadow growing overhead? And he really didn't hear the bird falling?

I'm not against walking with headphones so long as they're at a level where you can still hear everything around, like traffic. That's just asking for it to drown out the outside world.