Depression and flying

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Pilot intentionally downs Butte-based helicopter into Helena hayfield

By Martin J. Kidston for Lee Montana Newspapers - 02/07/2006



HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte apparently
committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's helicopter into a
Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air traffic
control tower and informing them of his intentions.
The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was working as a
flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte on a visa.

The helicopter, a Robinson R-44, crashed off Lincoln Road about three
miles north of the Helena Regional Airport at about 12:17 a.m.

Lewis and Clark Coroner Mickey Nelson said it appeared that Pfeifhofer
intended to kill himself based on a conversation that took place
moments before the crash between him and air traffic controllers.

"It appears he didn't want to hurt anyone,'' Nelson said. "He
stated that in one of his conversations. He said he loved America and
that he didn't want to hurt anyone. It seems likely at this point
that it was a suicide.''

Jerry Airola, president of Silver State Helicopters in Nevada, said
Pfeifhofer's actions had left many saddened and shocked.

"It devastated a lot of people,'' Airola said. "We did a stand
down today. We're not doing any flying. We'll bring in counselors
for those who need to talk about it.''

Airola said Pfeifhofer was an Italian citizen who first began working
for Silver State in Colorado.



He transferred to the Butte office several months ago and had become a
proficient instructor, Airola said.

"It was his birthday yesterday, and he went to a Super Bowl party
where apparently he got in a fight with his girlfriend,'' Airola
said. "They broke up and he went to the airport and took one of the
helicopters.''

Airola said Pfeifhofer attempted to call his girlfriend on his cell
phone, along with his sister in Italy.

Later, Airola said, Pfeifhofer radioed Helena's air traffic control
tower and announced his intentions to commit suicide by crashing the
helicopter into the ground.

"He said 'I love America and I don't want to see anyone get
hurt,''' Airola said. "As an employee, he had access to the
helicopters there in Butte. I think he knew what he was going to do
before he even took off because he moved some of the newer aircraft out
of the way to get to the oldest one.''

Airola said the 1999-model aircraft was valued at around $300,000, much
less than the company's newer models.

Mike Fergus, a public affairs specialist with the Northwest Mountain
Region of the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed earlier in the
day that the aircraft was in fact registered to Silver State
Helicopters.

The company is based in Nevada and leases an aviation hangar at the
Bert Mooney Airport in Butte where it offers the helicopter flight
school where Pfeifhofer worked as an instructor.

"The helicopter crashed under unknown circumstances 10 miles north of
Helena,'' Fergus said Monday morning, declining to comment on the
crash. "It was destroyed by fire with one person on board.''

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said the first emergency
call rang in at 12:17 a.m. reporting a fire in the Helena Valley.

It wasn't until deputies arrived at the scene did they realize a
helicopter had crashed about 200 yards from the three houses off
Lincoln Road.

Liedle said the crash sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished by
the West Valley and Lewis and Clark volunteer fire departments.

Others in the valley reported seeing a small fireball in the area of
the crash. One man said his son watched the accident unfold.

"There wasn't much left of the helicopter,'' Liedle said.

Fergus said the National Transportation Safety Board had dispatched an
investigator to the scene from Seattle to examine the crash.

The FAA, he added, would examine any flight anomalies, including the
pilot's rating and his medical history.

Silver State Helicopters employs 450 people in 22 locations and owns
about 180 helicopters, the company said.

Coroner Nelson said Pfeifhofer's body would be sent to the State
Crime Lab in Missoula for an autopsy.

"We're tying to get the family notified over in Italy,'' Nelson
said. "They do it a little different there than we do it here. This
is definitely a different situation.''

Wow, some people just can't deal...

In a previous article, "Flyingmonk" said:
HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte apparently
committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's helicopter into a
Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air traffic
control tower and informing them of his intentions.
The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was working as a
flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte on a visa.

I spent two years without a medical because I took Welbutrin for two
months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that they are suffering
from depression don't seek treatment?


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"Grove giveth and Gates taketh away."
- Bob Metcalfe (inventor of Ethernet) on the trend of hardware speedups
not being able to keep up with software demands

Suicidal people should not use the following methods to kill
themselves... because it injures other people or destroys
property... and it is bad publicity and leads to bad laws...
crashing airplanes and helicopters
shooting yourself
stabbing yourself
crashing your car
jumping off of buildings can hurt people on the ground
poison

I suggest that a 20 foot steel cable, such as used with
garage doors and available at all home centers, placed
around the neck is quick, probably painless and 100%
effective if you jump from a 40 foot bridge. If you do it
over a river at full flood, there won't even be a funeral
and the cable won't even be seen for about 6 years since
your head and body will NOT be hanging there to draw
attention.

Anybody want to take bets that the guy was an Italian with
German ancestors, with troubles from his girlfriend because
she meet somebody else on the Internet?



"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
| In a previous article, "Flyingmonk"
said:
| HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte
apparently
| committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's
helicopter into a
| Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air
traffic
| control tower and informing them of his intentions.
| The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was
working as a
| flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte
on a visa.
|
| I spent two years without a medical because I took
Welbutrin for two
| months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that
they are suffering
| from depression don't seek treatment?
|
|
| --
| Paul Tomblin
http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
| "Grove giveth and Gates taketh away."
| - Bob Metcalfe (inventor of Ethernet) on the trend of
hardware speedups
| not being able to keep up with software demands

Anybody want to take bets that the guy was an Italian with
German ancestors, with troubles from his girlfriend because
she meet somebody else on the Internet?

That sounds like a subject for Jerry Springer.

On 2006-02-09, Jim Macklin p51mustang wrote:
effective if you jump from a 40 foot bridge. If you do it
over a river at full flood, there won't even be a funeral
and the cable won't even be seen for about 6 years since
your head and body will NOT be hanging there to draw
attention.

A bit macabre, but it wouldn't need to be at full flood - a 20 foot drop
using steel cable will probably cause decapitation, so all that'll be
left will be some steel wire and the head/body washed downstream.
--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net

Dylan Smith wrote:
A bit macabre, but it wouldn't need to be at full flood - a 20 foot drop
using steel cable will probably cause decapitation

One is conscious for several seconds after decapitation.

Jose

How do you know? Is there any tests that have been done to
verify consciousness after decapatitation, perhaps the Nazi
doctors had some Jews wired up before the final solution or
maybe the current Nazi descendents, the Islamic terrorists
kept good records. But their latest "tests" involved slow
throat, muscle and finally spinal cord cutting, so that pain
would be maximized. But a quick snapping of the spinal cord
as the head and body are jerked apart would be quick. A few
beers or a Valium would probably handle that (just a guess).


"Jose" wrote in message
oups.com...
|
| Dylan Smith wrote:
| A bit macabre, but it wouldn't need to be at full
flood - a 20 foot drop
| using steel cable will probably cause decapitation
|
| One is conscious for several seconds after decapitation.
|
| Jose
|

Jose wrote:
Dylan Smith wrote:

A bit macabre, but it wouldn't need to be at full flood - a 20 foot drop
using steel cable will probably cause decapitation


One is conscious for several seconds after decapitation.

Do you have first-hand experience here? You must be a fast typist!

Matt

It would make a good movie plot, the full flood was just an
added thought so the parts would be a long way away. If you
had a suit of chain mail or armor on so the body would not
bloat and come to the surface and a steel knights helmet so
the head would also sink...

I guess I've been watching too many episodes of Buffy and
Angel.

A ten foot drop on a rope can cause decapitation, you can
find pictures of the hanging of Black Bart (a white stage
coach robber about 1900) or even recently of a young man
running from the police in Atlanta who jumped over a bridge
rail and had his head caught on a spiked fence (Google
"decapitation Atlanta") brings it up.

When do you expect to see riot control police with Homelite
chain saws instead of clubs?



--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
| On 2006-02-09, Jim Macklin p51mustang wrote:
| effective if you jump from a 40 foot bridge. If you do
it
| over a river at full flood, there won't even be a
funeral
| and the cable won't even be seen for about 6 years since
| your head and body will NOT be hanging there to draw
| attention.
|
| A bit macabre, but it wouldn't need to be at full flood -
a 20 foot drop
| using steel cable will probably cause decapitation, so all
that'll be
| left will be some steel wire and the head/body washed
downstream.
| --
| Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
| Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
| Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute:
http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
| Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net