Helicopter Fighting Wildfire in Seobyeon-dong, Daegu Crashes
One Pilot Killed, Police and Authorities to Investigate Cause
Wildfire Contained in About an Hour, Ongoing Efforts to Prevent Rekindling
On the afternoon of the 6th, a helicopter extinguishing a wildfire in Seobyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, crashed, resulting in the death of one pilot. This accident occurred 11 days after a leased helicopter crash in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, on the 26th of last month.
The accident happened around 3:41 PM when a helicopter dispatched to extinguish a wildfire on a hill in Seobyeon-dong crashed about 100 meters away from the wildfire site. The helicopter was a leased aircraft from Dong-gu Office of Daegu, and only the pilot, Mr. A (74), was on board at the time of the crash.
According to witnesses, the helicopter descended while lowering its altitude to about the height of utility poles, and as the water bucket moved forward, it collided with a nearby farm shed, then spun once before crashing. Witnesses attempted to rescue the pilot but were unable to save him.
The crashed helicopter was a Bell 206L model leased from Dong-gu Office of Daegu, manufactured 44 years ago. The police and related authorities recovered the pilot’s body around 5:30 PM and plan to conduct a thorough investigation into the exact cause of the accident.
A total of five helicopters were deployed for wildfire suppression operations that day. Immediately after the accident, the police and related authorities planned to investigate the circumstances of the accident once the site cleanup was completed.
Meanwhile, the wildfire that started at 3:12 PM was extinguished around 4:18 PM, about an hour later. The forestry authorities and Buk-gu Office are continuing to monitor for any remaining embers to prevent further flare-ups.
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