2 pilots die after firefighting helicopter crashes in Idaho

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the two pilots who died after their firefighting helicopter crashed in Idaho. Killed were 41-year-old Thomas Hayes of Post Falls, Idaho, and 36-year-old Jared Bird of Anchorage, Alaska. Mary Cernicek with the Salmon-Challis National Forest says the CH-47D Series “Chinook” helicopter crashed Thursday in the Salmon River near the small town of Salmon. The pilots were employees of the Anchorage-based ROTAK, which owned the aircraft and was contracted to help fight the Moose Fire burning about 21 miles north of Salmon. Cernicek said both pilots were military veterans.