Pilot Injured When Copter Crashes in Surf
A 19-year-old Pacoima man was injured Monday when his low-flying helicopter crashed in the surf off Summerland Beach, about 10 miles east of Santa Barbara.
Pilot Ben Springer was pulled from the wreckage by witnesses. He was reported in good condition at St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara after treatment for a cut on his head and possible compression fracture of the spine.
Officials of Watson Helicopters Inc., owner of the helicopter, were not immediately available for comment, but a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Springer was en route from Pacoima, where the helicopter is based, to Camarillo at the time of the accident.
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