Debris was strewn across a wide area along Highway 4 near Stanley Road in Farmington late morning Wednesday, Feb. 22 when an agricultural spray helicopter went down. Though the chopper was destroyed, the pilot survived the crash, but with some serious injuries.
The helicopter was owned by Ag Air and was on a spraying run shortly before 11:30 a.m. when it went down just east of Stanley Road. Witnesses said the chopper was coming in along Highway 4, dipped as if to apply some spray and then went down, breaking up into multiple pieces upon impact with the ground.
The pilot, whose name was not released by officials, reportedly had broken ribs, cuts and abrasions and a gash on his head and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Responders said based on the violence of the crash and the amount of debris littering the area, the pilot was lucky to have survived.
Farmington Fire Department and American Medical Response, AMR, out of Stockton, were both on scene and tended to the injured pilot, including having to go through a decontamination process because of the helicopter fuel and herbicide that he was exposed to during the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration was called to the scene and took over the investigation. No cause was listed for the crash.
The helicopter was owned by Ag Air and was on a spraying run shortly before 11:30 a.m. when it went down just east of Stanley Road. Witnesses said the chopper was coming in along Highway 4, dipped as if to apply some spray and then went down, breaking up into multiple pieces upon impact with the ground.
The pilot, whose name was not released by officials, reportedly had broken ribs, cuts and abrasions and a gash on his head and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Responders said based on the violence of the crash and the amount of debris littering the area, the pilot was lucky to have survived.
Farmington Fire Department and American Medical Response, AMR, out of Stockton, were both on scene and tended to the injured pilot, including having to go through a decontamination process because of the helicopter fuel and herbicide that he was exposed to during the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration was called to the scene and took over the investigation. No cause was listed for the crash.
