Search continues for missing helicopter pilot

by Anonymous on 20 Sep 2011

As night approached Monday an expanded search team of 15 aircraft had yet to find a single trace of an experienced chopper pilot who went missing near Hope last Friday.

The unidentified 61-year-old man took off from Langley airport in an Aerospatiale A350 helicopter about 6:30 p.m., planning to fly to a residence near Kelowna according to reports.

Low clouds hovered over Hope at the time of the man’s last recorded cellphone signal, which means he might have tried to fly close to the ground or land for safety, said George Miller, Langley Airport manager.

The pilot — who officials won’t name because of the wishes of his family — “has done this trip a number of times, and he’s very familiar with the Okanagan,” Miller said.

Transport Canada registration documents show that aircraft has been operated by three different companies since it was imported to B.C. in 2007.

That aircraft is not currently listed in registry documents by Transport Canada, but Reid said “from our knowledge, [the missing chopper] is registered.”