Helicopter crash at Horseshoe Bay Airport injures pilot
A wind gust might be to blame in a helicopter crash at the Horsehoe Bay Airport on Dec. 29, according to police. A Horseshoe Bay man walked away with minor injuries. Courtesy photo
FROM STAFF REPORTS
HORSESHOE BAY — A man suffered minor injuries Dec. 29 after an apparent wind gust caused a private helicopter he was piloting to crash into the ground near an airport hangar, causing extensive damage to the aircraft, according to a Horseshoe Bay police report.
Charles E. Deyhle Jr. of Horseshoe Bay, a veterinarian, was the pilot and only occupant of a small Robinson R44, which seats four passengers, when the accident happened about 3:35 p.m. that afternoon.
“He was trying to land his helicopter on a portable platform, which they use, (so) once they land, they can roll it inside of a hangar,” Assistant Chief Rocky Wardlow said. “He said a gust of wind must have caught him, pushed him off course and caused the aircraft to nose downward into the ground.”
The skids, the aircraft’s landing apparatus, were about five feet from the ground before the crash, according to the report.
“It had significant damage to the helicopter, obviously the rotar, the tail rotar,” Wardlow said. “Both of the skids collapsed on it.”
The pilot suffered cuts and bruises. He was treated and released at the scene.
The Department of Public Safety and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.
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1 thought on “Helicopter crash at Horseshoe Bay Airport injures pilot”
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Yes, it must have been the wind, couldn’t have been bad piloting.