2 pilots die in fire fighting crashes in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — Both pilots of a firefighting helicopter that crashed in Idaho have died, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday.

Mary Cernicek with the Salmon-Challis National Forest said Thomas Hayes, 41, of Post Falls, Idaho, and Jared Bird, 36, of Anchorage, Alaska, died from injuries they sustained when their CH-47D Series “Chinook” crashed in the Salmon River about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

The pilots were employees of the Anchorage-based ROTAK Helicopter Services, which was contracted to help fight the Moose Fire burning about 21 miles north of Salmon.

Both pilots were “highly experienced” and military veterans, Cernicek said. Emergency crews responding to the crash were able to extricate the men and transport them to medical facilities but they did not survive, she said.

On its website, ROTAK said it confirmed the accident “with heavy hearts” and asked for prayers and privacy on behalf of the families involved.

The Idaho crash comes less than a week after four first responders were killed in another helicopter crash in New Mexico. Authorities in New Mexico said the helicopter crew had wrapped up a firefighting mission and was heading home to Albuquerque when the helicopter came down, hitting the ground upright before toppling over.