Two dead in helicopter crash on B.C. coast

The helicopter went down about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday while in the Loughborough Inlet area for forestry operations.

An Island-based helicopter company says two men died in a helicopter crash Tuesday morning in an area between Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet. One person survived the crash of the Hughes 500 helicopter, which went down about 6:15 a.m. while in the Loughborough Inlet area for forestry operations. West Coast Helicopters, whose main base is in Port McNeill, said in a social-media post that one of the two men who died was Riley Browne, who started his flying career with West Coast in 2021, and was “one of the pillars of the company.”

Also killed was Bobby Nowak of Campbell River-based Crowhurst Forest Management Group, who the company called “a great guy.” The post from West Coast Helicopters, which also has bases in Campbell River, Port Alberni and Bella Coola, said the company was “deeply saddened” by the deaths. “Riley was a good friend and pilot to all who worked with him,” the post said.

“He always had a smile on his face, eager to help. “We all loved him.” The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, based in Victoria, said it was notified of the crash approximately 120 kilometres north of Comox about 6:30 a.m., via an emergency-locator transmitter signal.

A Cormorant helicopter and a Kingfisher aircraft were deployed from 19 Wing Comox. Search-and-rescue crews located the helicopter and recovered three people, then transferred them to local health services, the centre said. The Transportation Safety Board said a team of investigators is expected to arrive at the crash site on Wednesday morning.