UPDATE: Helicopter Crashes into Lakeville's Lake Marion, Pilot Swims to Safety

Further information update (3:15 p.m.)

A mosquito control helicopter crashed into Lake Marion in Lakeville around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The pilot, identified by the Dakota County Shreiff's Office as Kevin Rossan, 37, of Michigan, managed to swim to safety, but was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center complaining of back pain.

The crash occurred in a shallow part of the lake, near shore, along the 19100 block of Orchard Trail in Lakeville.

Scott Grant, who works for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, said he and the Rossan were working on treating a nearby wetland with mosquito insecticide when the crash happened.

Rossan is a contractor with Scott's Helicopter Services, based in LeSeuer, MN, according to Jim Stark with the MMCD. The pilot was the only person aboard the helicopter, he said.

Grant said Rossan was banking over the lake to do another pass over the wetland when he "lost power."

"He said he knew he was going down and tried to go down in the lake," Grant said. "(Rossan) wanted to avoid the homes and figured he had the best chance to survive if he went down in the lake."

Richard Artes, who owns the lakefront home the chopper went down behind said the crash came as a shock.

"I was on the phone with my daughter when I heard a loud 'wooshing' noise from the lake as the helicopter crashed," he said. He hung up the phone and came outside to see the pilot in the water, 20 feet from shore, asking for help.

"A ski boat with some kids came by right after that and they helped the pilot to the shore," Artes said. "I was relieved when I saw the pilot swimming out of the helicopter. I knew he survived."

According to a report in the Star Tribune, the boat was filled with wakeboarders who saw the helicopter go down and rushed over to help.

"We saw the helicopter going from side to side, and all of the sudden, we saw it go down and he hit the water," Josh Tranby, 22, of Anoka,told the Star Tribune. He was driving the boat at the time, he said.

Artes said three of the boaters from the group got into the water and pulled the pilot onto one of their boards, then swam him to shore,

Trevor Pearson, 27, of Bloomington, who was also on the boat, told the Star Tribune the helicopter was 50 to 70 feet above the lake when the engine stopped and it went down, hitting the lake with a huge bang.

During interviews with media on scene, Stark said arial views of the helicopter suggest most of the insecticide remains intact inside the helicopter's hopper.

He said the amount of the active ingredient that could be realeased into the lake is "pretty minimal" and that if it is released, it would only affect mosquito and fly populations.

Stark said the main chemical in the insecticide is methoprene, a " juvenile hormone" that acts as a growth regulator.

"It's pretty benign," Stark said.

Police Chief Thomas Vonhof said he's seen one or two helicopter crashes in his 25 years with the police department, but said he's never known of one to crash in a lake.

"It's unbelieveable. It's a credit to the pilot, too, to try and avoid homes," he said.

The crash scene is currently "frozen" according to Vonhof, while authorities wait for Federal Aviation Administration investigators to come on scene.

The Dakota County Sheriff's Department will be the lead law enforcement agency conducting the investigation.

Vonhof said that once the FAA is finished with its investigation, the helicopter will be salvaged using bouys to float it to a boat launch.

The helicopter is a Bell 47, the sheriff's office said.

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First post (11:55 a.m.)

A helicopter has crashed into Lake Marion in Lakeville.

No word on injuries and details are still emerging.

Lakeville Patch will have more as news develops.