Officials Examine Copter Wreckage

Federal investigators are examining the scene of a helicopter crash to determine what caused the crash that killed the sole passenger and seriously injured the pilot.

Russell T. Shinskie, 30, of Stroud, Okla., died at the scene shortly after the chopper went down Tuesday, Jerome County Sheriff Jim Weaver said.

Pilot Darrel Morris, 31, of Darrington, Wash., was listed in critical condition late Wednesday afternoon at Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls.

Shinskie was riding on one of the helicopter’s skids when it went down, Weaver said.

The men worked for the Molalla, Ore.-based Winco company and were using the chopper to string fiber optic cable along power lines just off U.S. Highway 93, about 10 miles from Jerome.

Helicopters are commonly used to string cable in areas too remote or too rugged for line trucks, said Debra Eckrote, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. The tactic has led to chopper crashes before, she said.

Eckrote said the board will consider weather, mechanical failure and numerous other possible causes as investigators examine the chopper’s wreckage and take a closer look at the crash site.