The owner with an emotional voice on the phone declined to comment saying the investigation should get in the way. “Everyone who knows him is devastated. “The people we’ve talked to can not believe it, as everyone is still in shock,” said Randy Humberland. The deceased pilot, who has been identified by friends as Brent Fedirchuk, had recently turned 50, was a father and resident of Port Alberni. “He was a great man. Easy to get along with. He was loved by all. I can not say a single bad thing about him. “He also had a young family,” said Humberland, who worked with Fedurchuk for 22 years. Humberland said it was the first time it had heard about the helicopter crash in the news. “That a helicopter crashed near the Sayward bang. “I knew immediately who he was because I was supposed to be there because I was part of this fly properly, but I had a problem with the truck, so I did not make it,” Humberland said. On Wednesday morning, Fedirchuk flew from Kestrel’s Parksville base to a rural area north of Sayward. He had just started a day of travel, moving, rescuing wood from the forest, to use it to make a cot or shingles, on a nearby road. It was around 9 in the morning when something went wrong. “She knew she had a problem. “He made a radio and sounded the alarm and the last words he said were that I was going down and I guess he fell from about 250 feet,” Humberland said. The International Helicopter Association says the helicopter used – a Hughes 369D / MD 500 – is generally a very safe and flexible helicopter used worldwide for a variety of functions. The Transportation Safety Board says it has sent two investigators to the crash site to document the scene and decide on the next steps in the investigation. Brent Fedirchuk, a 50-year-old Port Alberni resident and father, was killed while operating a helicopter that crashed near Sayward on Wednesday. (Photo submitted) [email protected]
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