prineville police

A helicopter crash near the Prineville Airport on Saturday morning killed one person and left another with serious injuries.

The Prineville Police Department confirmed Tuesday morning that an 80-year-old man died of his injuries after the crash. Police did not identify the man.

The helicopter crashed in an open field approximately 200 yards south of Houston Lake Road in the area of the Crook County Landfill. No ground injuries or property damage were reported.

When emergency responders arrived, they discovered an 80-year-old male pilot and 46-year-old male passenger. Both people were airlifted to Bend for medical treatment. A GoFundMe account made by Shannon Wackerman identifies the passenger as Dan Wackerman.

According to the post, Wackerman was teaching a friend how to pilot the helicopter at the time of the crash. The post also said the pilot died shortly after arriving at the hospital and that Wackerman is on a ventilator with severe brain and spinal injuries. The fundraising goal set on the GoFundMe post is $50,0000.

“Today he is still sedated, on the ventilator and waiting for more surgeries,” the post states. “We have so many unknowns ahead to overcome. Greatest of all, who will Dan be when he wakes up? What will his brain be like and what is the future of our world going to look like? Is he going to be the father, husband, friend, brother, neighbor and amazing man we all know? We have a lot of work to do.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s preliminary report, the helicopter was a 2022 DB Aerocopter AK1-3, a two-seater Ukrainian helicopter with a Subaru engine. It is registered to James Scheller of Powell Butte. 

The investigation has been handed over to the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.