More detail on this person: Richard G Vance 3 die in copter crash in Idaho canyon HELLS CANYON, Idaho (UPI) - A pilot and two Texasgulf, Inc., mining-exploration officials died Wednesday when their helicopter was buffeted by high winds and slammed against a canyon wall, 3 miles east of Hells Canyon Dam. Jim Hileman, Adams County sheriff, said two Texasgulf coredrillers, Gary Melchior, 23, and Rick Phipps, 28, both of Halfway, Ore., and a pilot, Richard Vance, 35, Boise, died when they were thrown from the craft. "We had a terrible storm in there last (Wednesday) night," Hileman said. A company spokesman said other Texasgulf employees working in the canyon reported that winds of 60 miles an hour raced through the area at about 9 p.m. Wednesday when the helicopter was in the air. The winds tore metal off the roofs in the camp. The bodies were found by a Forest Service helicopter about 6 a.m. yesterday as it checked on 20 small fires ignited by lighting Hiller 12-E Soloy crash wihile flying for Idaho Helicopters in 1983.
Burial information: Dry Creek Cemetery, Boise, ID
This information was last updated 08/16/2021
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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