3 walk away from chopper crash

Helicopter crashes after takeoff in Oliver vineyard

Three people walked away from a helicopter crash Thursday in a vineyard near Oliver.

The aircraft, operated by West Kelownabased Valhalla Helicopters, had a pilot and two passengers aboard when it fell and landed on its side around 2 p.m., shortly after departing from Checkmate Artisanal Winery on Wild Rose Street.

“It was just taking off and lost altitude quickly and dropped, about 100 feet, right into the vineyard,” said Oliver RCMP Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth.

“It’s amazing there was no big fire and no major injuries.”

Wrigglesworth said the three people aboard managed get themselves out of the helicopter and were later transported by ambulance to Kelowna General Hospital as a precaution.

The officer noted the Oliver Fire Department’s speedy response to the scene likely prevented a fuel leak from turning into something more dangerous.

“You get a call like that and you expect the worst. The fire department was right on top of it and it was incredible,” said Wrigglesworth.

Mounties have now turned their attention to assisting the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in its investigation.

TSB spokesman Dean Campbell said in an email Friday the agency didn’t dispatch a team to the site, but is “assessing and gathering information.”

Valhalla Helicopters general manager Blair Savege said the TSB released the site just hours after the crash and it was cleaned up by 8 p.m. Thursday.

Savege declined to speculate on the cause of the crash because it’s still under investigation.

“All I can say is we’ve been in business a long time and we’ve been doing wine tours in the Okanagan Valley for eight years and this is the first incident we’ve had,” said Savege.

The pilot was properly certified for the Bell 206 helicopter, added Savege, and all three people aboard got into the waiting ambulances under their own power for treatment of minor injuries.

Besides tours, Valhalla Helicopters also offers commercial services to a wide variety of industries, including forestry, mining and energy.

Oliver Fire Department A helicopter rests on its side following a crash Thursday outside Checkmate Artisanal Winery near Oliver. All three people aboard walked away with minor injuries.