Downed helicopter extracted from lake in Sweetwater area, but crash details still unknown
The pilot had minor bumps and bruises from the crash in August but didn’t require further medical attention
Nate Peterson/Vail Daily
The helicopter that crashed into a private lake in the Sweetwater area on Friday, Aug. 22, while fighting the Derby Fire was extracted from the area on Tuesday, although details on the crash remain scarce.
On Thursday, a tractor trailer hauled the damaged helicopter to the Eagle County Regional Airport.
According to the initial U.S. Forest Service release on the incident, the pilot was picked up by another aircraft and flown to the airport and was evaluated by emergency personnel. The pilot had minor bumps and bruises but didn’t require further medical attention.
Following the crash, the Forest Service said a USDA Forest Service investigation team was on its way to Eagle County to investigate.
An official at the USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations Office for the Rocky Mountain Region in Golden declined to comment when reached Thursday. The Vail Daily has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Forest Service seeking additional information on the incident.
A nighttime lighting strike on a cliff face in the Sweetwater area ignited the Derby Fire on Saturday, Aug. 16. The fire has burned 5,453 acres in northwestern Eagle County and is 85% contained as of Thursday.
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