DOVE CREEK – A helicopter pilot was killed in a crash at a remote gas-and-oil construction site southeast of Dove Creek Tuesday morning.
The Huey-style helicopter was part of a construction crew conducting seismic testing for Kinder Morgan, according to officials at the scene.
The crash occurred on rolling Bureau of Land Management land interspersed with pine trees off Dolores County Road 15, north of County Road M.
Another large construction helicopter sat nearby the wreckage and appeared unharmed. It was not known if it was involved in the accident.
The pilot was the only person onboard, and there were no other injuries. Area fire crews, including the BLM, were on scene, but there was no fire around the white-colored, crumpled aircraft.
Dolores County Coroner Joyce Barnett described the crash site as “devastating.”
She said the victim was a Montana man in his 30s, but he was not identified.
“We lost a good friend and co-worker,” said a construction crew member at the scene who did not give his name.
Dolores County Sheriff Jerry Martin said the crash is under investigation by his office, the BLM, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“It is too early in the investigation as to the cause,” Martin said. “All aspects of the accident will be looked into, and the NTSB will look into the soundness of the aircraft.”
Aviation investigators were on their way to the site, he said.
A worker at the scene said the construction helicopter works with a ground crew to move large seismic sensors to different locations to check for reserves of gas and oil underground.
“They fly at low elevations – it may have lost lift,” he said.
As part of expanded operations, Kinder Morgan has increased seismic testing operations in the area, often in remote locations.
“My observations of them in the last couple of years is that they are really excellent pilots,” Martin said.
