Helicopter crash in Stanwood field kills man, hurts 2

Couple were on sightseeing trip

Monday, April 3, 2000

By RUTH TEICHROEB and CHRIS McGANN

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

A Bell-47 helicopter taking a Marysville couple on a sightseeing tour crashed and burst into flames yesterday near Stanwood. One man was killed, and his wife and pilot were slightly injured.

After the helicopter crashed in a farmer's field about 11:45 a.m., the 55-year-old pilot pulled his two passengers from the aircraft, according to reports from those at the scene.

Michael R. Jacobs, 50, of Marysville, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife Sharon, 50, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office.

Chuck Smith and his wife, Betty, were visiting a nearby farm when they saw the helicopter begin to fall from the sky.

"It just happened so doggone fast," said Smith, 62, of Oak Harbor. "We heard a pop like a backfire as it was making its descent.

"We heard what might have been the tail rotor hitting metal and then a crash. We could see smoke coming up, so we ran to the crash scene."

When they arrived, the pilot was giving cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to a man, Smith said.

"We were concerned about the fuel tanks because there was a small fire underneath them," Smith said.

They pulled the man farther away from the helicopter, then ran to help a woman who was on her back about 12 feet from the flames and trying to inch away from the fire, Smith said.

"I got down on my hands and knees and told her to crawl on my back," Smith said. "My wife held her there and I crawled about 50 to 60 feet that way."

The woman was in shock and kept asking about the condition of her husband, Smith said.

"There was virtually nothing left of the helicopter," Smith said. "It was pretty bad . . . We're so thankful the lady is fine."

Craig McCarty, a Seattle firefighter who owns the field where the helicopter crashed, did not see the crash but assisted the Stanwood Fire Department crew when they arrived.

McCarty said they tried to revive the male victim but got no response and moved on to help the female, who was about 75 feet from the wrecked aircraft. "She was awake and alert when we loaded her on board (the airlift)," McCarty said.

"The pilot was up and walking around. . . . She (Jacobs) had minor abrasions and cuts."

The helicopter apparently struck the bank of the Stillaguamish River, skipped up into McCarty's grass and clover field, dug into the ground and flipped over before bursting into flames, McCarty said.

The woman was listed in satisfactory condition last night at Harborview. She was to remain overnight for observation, a nursing supervisor said.

The pilot, a Snohomish resident, was treated for minor injuries at Providence Everett Medical Center and was expected to be released yesterday, a nursing supervisor said.

Authorities would not identify the name of the pilot or his employer.

The Bell-47 helicopter crashed near the 6000 block of Norman Road in Stanwood, said Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. FAA regional duty officer Mike O'Connor said last night that his investigators were at the crash site but that the cause of the accident has not been determined.

An autopsy will be done today to determine the cause of Jacobs' death.

http://www.postintelligencer.com/local/heli03.shtml

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), April 03, 2000