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Rare 2008 Cranbrook Helicopter Crash Killed Pedestrian and Three Aboard

Investigators later concluded the Bell 206's engine failed during a power-line inspection.

Overview

  • In Cranbrook, British Columbia, a Bell 206 doing power-line checks crashed into a residential street in May 2008, killing 23-year-old student Isiah Otieno and the three people on board.
  • Canada's Transportation Safety Board later said the helicopter suffered a severe engine failure, a finding supported by a largely intact engine recovered from the wreckage.
  • Witnesses reported the pilot tried to steer away from homes and the aircraft dropped the final few feet before striking Otieno on the sidewalk.
  • Otieno, a College of the Rockies student and son of Kenyan cabinet minister Dalmas Otieno, was honored at a packed campus memorial with music and tributes.
  • The others who died were pilot Edward Heeb, 57, and BC Hydro employees Dirk Rozenboom, 45, and Robert Lehmann, 37.