CBP Helicopter Crashes Near San Elizario, Pilot Killed

SAN ELIZARIO, Texas (AP) – A small U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter crashed in a residential area during a routine patrol along the Mexican border Tuesday, killing the pilot and critically injuring the other person onboard.

Officials identified the pilot as 40-year-old Robert Smith. Smith was a ten-year resident of El Paso. The agent who was with him, 30-year-old Steven Takacs, is stillin the hospitalin stable condition.

Among the first civilians to join rescuers after the helicopter slammed into a backyard and hit a pickup truck was Juan Chavez, a 95-year-old retired colonel from the Army Air Corps.

Chavez, his yellowing gray hair pulled back in a braided pony tail, still had blood on his hands as he recounted the rescue efforts. He could be seen on a video standing with rescuers trying to free the men from the chopper’s wreckage.

“This here ain’t nothing new to me,” he said with a slight laugh. “I knew what to do. I’m an old pilot.” Chavez said he saw the helicopter crash into the yard behind his nephew’s house early Tuesday then jumped into his truck and went to the scene.

There, Border Patrol agents and other rescuers were trying to extricate the men from the helicopter. The chopper was broken in two pieces, and both people onboard were unconscious with head trauma, Chavez said.

One of the crew members regained consciousness during the rescue effort. “We told him he was OK and to hang in with us,” said Chavez, who retired in 1976 and said he served as a code talker during World War II.

The Navajo Code Talkers used their native language to transmit military messages in a code the Japanese could not break. In the wreck Tuesday, the pilot and a Border Patrol observer monitoring the area for illegal activity were taken by ambulance to a hospital, Senior Border Patrol Agent Patrick Berry said.

No one on the ground was hurt, but one resident was treated for anxiety, Berry said. The identities of the victims weren’t released pending notification of family, officials said.

Another witness to the crash about 10 miles east of El Paso said the helicopter appeared to be coming from Fabens, Texas, when it suddenly started having trouble.

“They were flying along real good, then there was a snapping, popping noise,” said Wayne Weaver, 47. “You could hear a light hum, then like a thunk.” Then the helicopter disappeared and he heard a “boom,” Weaver said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident, which occurred the day before the El Paso Border Patrol sector was set to honor fallen agents at the National Border Patrol Museum. National Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar is scheduled to attend.

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-05-22-07 1628EDT