Helicopter Crash Kills Pilot, Hurts 1

A pilot ferrying deer hunters to Bear Canyon near Ojai died Friday when his helicopter crashed while he was apparently trying to land it on a mountain ridge in the rugged backcountry, authorities said.

Louis Brunette, 64, was found dead at the scene at 9:35 a.m., about three hours after the crash, the Ventura County coroner’s office said. The retired plumbing contractor apparently died of head injuries, Deputy Coroner Dale Zentzis said. An autopsy was scheduled for today.

Brunette’s passenger, Ron Cline Jr., 29, of Buellton, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said Cline was in guarded condition with multiple injuries.

The crash occurred about two miles east of Rose Valley Work Camp, a Sheriff’s Department jail facility in the Los Padres National Forest, Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Funchess said. Officials said they did not know what caused the crash.

Brunette apparently had agreed to fly three hunters from Rose Valley to Bear Canyon, a couple of miles away, Funchess said.

Cline was the first passenger Brunette picked up in his two-seat helicopter, Funchess said.

Brunette apparently crashed when he was trying to set the helicopter down so Cline could get out, Funchess said.

After the helicopter failed to return in two hours, the other two members of the hunting party notified authorities that something was wrong, Funchess said.

The Sheriff’s Department received the alert about 8:30 a.m. and sent a helicopter to search for the aircraft, Funchess said. It was spotted at 9:25 a.m.

Sheriff’s workers were able to pick up Cline, who was clear of the wreckage.

Cline was flown to the hospital, where he was scheduled to be admitted to the intensive care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said. She said Cline was conscious and talking.

A second helicopter was sent out about 10:30 a.m. to retrieve the pilot’s body, said Dan Shea, a Sheriff’s Department helicopter pilot.

The helicopter was able to land about 100 yards from Brunette’s small-model, piston-powered helicopter. Brunette’s aircraft, which was heavily damaged, was worth $60,000 to $100,000, Shea said.

The helicopter had crashed on a ridgeline about 5,000 feet in elevation, rolled onto its side and slid down the hill until it came to rest on the slope, he said.

“It appears they were probably trying to land or had mechanical difficulties,” Shea said. The crash did not start a fire, Shea said.

Shea said the air currents in the area’s rugged, mountainous terrain change from day to day and sometimes hour to hour.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident, said Gary Mucho, director of the agency’s southwest region.

Board investigators and Federal Aviation Administration representatives planned to visit the accident scene today, he said.

Brunette is survived by his wife, Glenda, five daughters, one son and seven grandchildren.

Brunette kept his helicopter on a helipad about 100 feet from his single-story ranch-style house, which sits on a hillside just outside Ojai.

He had the helicopter professionally serviced and “kept it in tiptop shape,” Glenda Brunette said.

Louis Brunette, a Santa Barbara native who had lived in the Ojai Valley since he was 18, also owned a single-engine Cessna airplane. In the past, he had raced motorboats, and he grew avocados on his small ranch, Glenda Brunette said.

Thia Bell contributed to this report.