Helicopter crash in Olalla kills pilot

Lee Giles III

of the Gateway

Members from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the Sunday crash of a Robinson R-22 piston-powered helicopter in a residential neighborhood in Olalla.

The pilot, the sole occupant of the single-engine aircraft, died in the crash.

The pilot was identified Monday as 68-year-old Myron Aadland of Olalla.

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue crews responded to 9-1-1 calls made by area residents that a helicopter had crashed in the 12600 block of Banner Road SE in Olalla.

Witnesses say they heard the engine revving in both high and low noises prior to the crash. There was no post-crash fire and damage was confined to a fence, landscaping and the aircraft.

The home at the crash site was undamaged and unoccupied at the time of the accident.

“Looking at the crash location, it’s like threading a needle,” Kitsap County Deputy public information officer Scott Wilson said.

Wilson said the area that the pilot had to deal with was filled with homes and other structures, making any landing difficult.

“It’s not wide,” Wilson said. “(But) not a thing was touched.”

The helicopter was manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company of Torrance, Calif. The craft is popular with flight schools and is used in a variety of applications.

The aircraft is powered by a four-cylinder, air-cooled engine and seats two.

Aadland reportedly departed Bremerton National Airport earlier in the day and had made several approaches to his home-based helipad located just north of the crash site with the intent to pick up a passenger.

At some point, Aadland experienced an in-flight emergency, which forced him to attempt to land in an area adjacent to a house.

The helicopter came in contact with trees and a fence on the west side of the property before rolling on its side. An autopsy was planned by officials from the Kitsap County Medical Examiners Office. The NTSB will remove the wreckage to its Maple Valley facility for analysis.

“I think the primary focus on the pilot’s mind was not to hurt anyone on the ground,” Wilson said.