JONES HAROLD E

CW3 Harold "Gene" E Jones was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 11/09/2007 at the age of 64.2 from A/C accident
Morristown, WV
Date of Birth 08/28/1943
Served in the U.S. Army
This information was provided by Obituary

More detail on this person: UPDATED: Helicopter Pilot Killed, Posted: 5:13 PM Nov 9, 2007, Last Updated: 7:04 PM Nov 9, 2007, Reporter: Rob Pratt

Morristown (WVLT) - A helicopter pilot has died after being hit by the rotor after landing in Morristown. The pilot is a 64 year-old Harold E. "Gene" Jones, a retired Army pilot from Princeton, West Virginia. The Morristown Police Department says Jones stopped at the Moore-Murrell Airport to refuel the helicopter, a Bell 407 like the one pictured above, just after 3:00 p.m. Friday. They say he was returning to the aircraft and was somehow hit by the main rotor at the rear of the helicopter and killed. The two passengers riding with the pilot were not in the helicopter at the time of the accident and were not hurt. Hamblen County Coroner Eddie Davis confirmed that the pilot was killed instantly. Logan & Kanawha Coal issued a release about the accident, saying Logan had been employed with them and its affiliated companies since July 12, 1982. "Mr. Jones was an accomplished pilot having served as both a military and private pilot," said John Earles with Logan & Kanawha. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident.

Eugene Jones served one or two tours in Vietnam as an Army maintenance officer and we all spent 10 plus years in the Virginia National Guard flying UH-1Hs. I lived in Roanoke, VA and hitched rides with gene in his Cherokee going back and forth to RIC. He was a fine pilot and gentleman. Gene flew a Jetranger for a coal company and on a flight last yer, after setting the friction lock on the cyclic to load pax and their bags, he walked under the turning rotor and a wind gust flexed the rotor down and hit him in hte head and died instantly. He asked his wife to be buried in his flight suit so some National Guard aviators flew one out to West Virginia for him to be buried in. What a waste of a great guy to survive Vietnam and get whacked on a business flight.

From: William L. Terry, USA Retired

This information was last updated 05/18/2016

Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters

Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list

Return to VHPA web site

Date posted on this site: 01/11/2025