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Helicopter damaged after mishap

No one was injured after a helicopter fell about 20 feet after it took off from the Innisfail airport Oct. 18. According to an RCMP press release, police attended the scene at 10:39 a.m. Both the male and female in the aircraft were fine.

No one was injured after a helicopter fell about 20 feet after it took off from the Innisfail airport Oct. 18.

According to an RCMP press release, police attended the scene at 10:39 a.m. Both the male and female in the aircraft were fine.

The cause is believed to be mechanical, the press release said.

Jim Romane, president of the Innisfail Flying Club which manages the airport, said the pilot had stopped to get some fuel at the airport.

“It was a mechanical failure,” Romane said.

The helicopter's tail was damaged when it spun on the ground, clipping a small shed, he said.

Overall it was a “pretty minor” accident, he said.

RCMP said they'd forwarded the file to the Transportation Safety Board.

Barry Holt, a regional senior investigator with the Transportation Safety Board based in Edmonton, said he couldn't confirm if it was a mechanical problem that caused the helicopter to fall.

The board will be gathering data for its files, Holt said, but the lack of injuries and because it's considered a ground incident mean no full investigation.

“The board's not going to investigate,” he said.

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