A pilot sustained minor injuries after a helicopter crash in Strathcona County Saturday afternoon.
The crash that involved a home-built helicopter happened in a field near Highway 21 and Township Road 534 at approximately 5:15 p.m., RCMP said.
A spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) told CTV News the pilot — Daniel Jacobs — was practicing auto-rotations.
“It’s a technique that helicopter pilots use to be able to land a helicopter without engine power,” Chris Krepski said.
TSB’s investigation revealed that the helicopter’s engine failed as the pilot practiced how to land safely in such scenario.
Jacobs, who practices this technique once a year, told CTV News he was “probably” going 60 km/h and “might have” slowed down to 30 km/h before he hit the ground.
“I tried to throttle and I didn’t get anything and I thought, ‘this is going to be a real throttle’,” he said.
“I didn’t have any room to properly slow down, so I still had a lot of forward speed and I hit the ground kind of skidding.”
He suffered some deep cuts to his head, but feels “pretty lucky” to be alive.
“A bit of a headache; not too bad, all things considered,” Jacobs said.
His home-built plane sustained significant damage in the crash.
Jacobs got his flying licence in 2000.
“I really like flying. I was interested in it since I was just a little guy. It’s in my blood.”
TSB has concluded its investigation.
With files from Angela Jung
