Bystander On Ground Among Victims

Three persons onboard a Bell 206 JetRanger, and a fourth on the ground, were killed when the helicopter impacted a neighborhood in Cranbrook, British Columbia on Tuesday.

The downed helicopter burst into flames as it skidded across a street in the community 500 miles east of Vancouver, reports The Associated Press. The Bighorn Inc. helicopter (file photo of type, above) had been hired by a local power company for a line patrol, and was transporting two employees to a work site.

Investigators are on scene, with no reported leads so far as to what brought the helicopter down.

Witness Richard Fairchild told The Canadian Press he was on the phone, when the sound of the helo flying close to the ground drowned out his conversation. He watched as the JetRanger overflew at treetop level, and suddenly fell to the ground. 

"It looked like he was trying to land or something, but there was no control," Fairchild said.

"My friend and I, we could tell there was something wrong because he was kind of fluttering and sputtering..." another witness, Elmer Bautz, told reporters. "I kind of thought there was trouble but it happened so bloody quick.

"There was a pedestrian walking on the street across from me," Bautz added. "I don't think he even knew what hit him."

FMI: www.bighorn.ca/