Helicopter Goes Down

A Marysville helicopter pilot was in serious condition Friday after his recently repaired aircraft crashed off Jones Bar Road.

Fred Young had cuts to his face and hands and complained of rib and back pain. But he was coherent and even had the wherewithal to call his wife and then the Federal Aviation Administration before rescuers arrived, said Nevada County Sheriff's Deputy Andy Burr.

"He was really lucky he was able to put it down - however he did it," Burr said.

Young, whom Burr said was 45 to 50 years old, was flown by California Highway Patrol helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition, a supervising nurse said.

Young was en route to Marysville from Reno, where his Hughes 500D helicopter had undergone "major repair," Burr said, adding he didn't know the nature of the repairs. The aircraft's engine apparently seized, and Young looked for a clearing for an emergency landing.

Young crashed at 3:15 p.m. just off Lily Creek Trail on land which, according to neighbor Jeremy Gicker, is owned by the Seghezzi family and tended by Mike Seghezzi. Lily Creek Trail is a private, dead-end road that meets McKittrick Ranch Road.

The chopper apparently landed and flipped at least once after the main propeller struck and severed a seven-foot tree, Burr said. The aircraft's tail, which said "A&P Helicopters, Yuba City" was about 20 feet from the main body.

Patricia Bennett was visiting the Gickers residence, which is about 300 yards from the crash site. "It sounded like a car coming down the road and then there was a thump - and it was a single big thump," she said. She stepped outside and saw a puff of smoke, but didn't think anything more of it until she mentioned it to Gicker 30 to 45 minutes later. Gicker rode a motorcycle to the crash scene, saw the helicopter, and returned to the house to have Bennett call 911. He returned to the crash and talked with Young, who asked for some water and a blanket.

"I thought for sure the person would just be dead in there," Gicker said.

The crash was first reported by neighbor Patty Thurston, said Burr. Burr conducted a ground search for about an hour, while a CHP helicopter pilot flew overhead, but they didn't find anything.

At 4:15 p.m., Burr was on Jones Bar Road, on his way back to Nevada City, when he received a second call that the aircraft had been found. Burr said Young told him he crawled from the helicopter but then crawled back to the aircraft to get his cellular phone to call his wife and the FAA.

FAA officials are expected to visit the crash site, but it wasn't clear when that would happen. The crashed caused a small fuel spill about 20 feet from a well, said Kurtis Zumwalt, a county Department of Environmental Health hazardous materials specialist. Zumwalt covered the fuel with plastic sheeting to limit the spread of contamination.

The Nevada County Consolidated Fire Department also responded to the crash, along with Penn Valley Ambulance, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and a Rough and Ready Fire Department volunteer.

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