The pilot of a helicopter that crashed near Exshaw on Friday (March 30) that died of his injuries while being taken to hospital has been identified.
Matthew Goodine, 28, from B.C. was flying a sightseeing tour for Kananaskis Heli Tours when the aircraft went down sometime before noon.
The four passengers of the helicopter were flown out together just before 4 p.m. with minor injuries.
RCMP are investigating the incident along with the Transportation Safety Board and the cause of the crash is not known at this time. However, at the time of the accident there was heavy snow in the area.
Kananaskis Public Safety responded to the backcountry rescue in the Jura Creek area of Loader Mountain for the rescue operation.
District conservation officer Glenn Naylor said rescuers were lucky the weather cleared when it did to allow them to fly into Jura Creek with three public safety personnel with Alpine Helicopters.
The rescuers landed at a staging area in the backcountry then slung the five people out by helicopter to that site before bringing them down the valley to the 1A Highway where paramedics were waiting.
“Our role was purely to get people out safely, " he said. “The rescue went well. "
A Lockheed Hercules aircraft was also dispatched to aid in the search and rescue of the area.
The pilot was the was slung out first at 3 p.m. and taken half an hour later by ambulance to the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 40 where he was transferred to a STARS air ambulance. He succumbed to his injuries en route to a Calgary Hospital.
The four remaining passengers, who could still walk as they emerged from the rescue helicopter have been taken to Calgary for evaluation.
