GEORGETOWN (CBS13) ― A National Guard helicopter went down in El Dorado County this afternoon, but all three people on board escaped without serious injury. A spokesman from the California National Guard has stated that the crew was working on a drug reconnaissance missing with local law enforcement when the crash occurred.
Two pilots and a National Forest Service employee were in the aircraft flying from Marshall Hospital to Georgetown at 2:30 p.m. today when it went down on West Canyon Creek Rd., east of the town of Georgetown in El Dorado County, according to Cal Fire. They had stopped in Auburn to refuel.
Lt. Col. John Siepman told CBS13 that there was no serious damage to anything on the ground. The pilot was able to land in tight quarters in a wooded area, and all of the passengers were able to walk away from the crash.
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A California National Guard helicopter flying above the Sierra foothills in search of marijuana farms performed an emergency landing Thursday afternoon. The two pilots and federal law enforcement officer on board were not injured.
"We're not sure what precipitated this, whether it was mechanical failure or some other sort of problem," said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann of the California National Guard.
The OH-58 helicopter went down around 2:30 p.m. in a secluded area north of Georgetown, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for Cal Fire, which responded to the incident.
Siepmann said the helicopter was based at Matter Air Base and flying a routine mission.
