U.S. Customs Agent Killed In Helicopter Crash In San Diego County

POTRERO, CA — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating Tuesday a helicopter crash near the U.S.-Mexico border that killed a pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations in the far southeastern reaches of San Diego County.

The federal air-interdiction agent was flying a Eurocopter AS350 B3 made by a company called Granite Coast Mapping based in Coronado. It went down for unknown reasons about 10:15 a.m. Monday in the Potrero area, off the 1800 block of Round Potrero Road, north of state Route 94 and roughly two miles south of Barrett Lake, according to CBP public affairs, Cal Fire and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Robert Katz, a commercial pilot who has been flying more than 40 years, told NBC 7 over the phone that FlightAware's flight tracker showed the helicopter taking off from Brown Field, about 20 miles west, around 9 a.m.

Katz told NBC 7 the flight track shows the pilot flying erratically before crashing, but the track log doesn't suggest anything was wrong with the helicopter. He says it was flying very low to the ground and with clear viewing conditions.

The pilot and sole occupant of the single-engine light-utility aircraft was on a border-security mission at the time of the crash and died at the scene, CBP spokesperson Gerrelaine Alcordo said.

The agent's name was withheld.

The helicopter crashed in the middle of a field at Sol Valley Ranch, a hemp farm. Dozens of border patrol agents lined a procession route from the crash site on Monday.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

— City News Service