Helicopter crash in Atlin, B.C., investigated by federal agency

A helicopter crashed at the Atlin, B.C., airport Thursday with the pilot sustaining minor injuries according to RCMP Cpl. Steve Woodcox.

There were no passengers on board when the incident happened at about 3 p.m., said the officer, and no witnesses.

But Woodcox said people told him they heard a loud explosion. He also talked to the pilot for the pilot's account of the crash.

"He had just come off the ground and just tried to level off the helicopter," he said.

"At that point for some reason the left side of the helicopter started to sink a bit, the pilot tried to correct that and level that off, that's when the helicopter rolled to the right, the blades hit the ground, were completely destroyed," he said.

The aircraft was around three to seven metres in the air, when the incident happened, said Woodcox.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the incident, he said.

The pilot, from Vanderhoof, B.C., is not being named by police.