Two dead, one hurt in helicopter crash on B.C. central coast

PORT MCNEILL — A British Columbia helicopter company says two people are dead and one person is injured after one of its aircraft went down on the central coast during forestry operations.

West Coast Helicopters says its pilot and a crew member from a logging company were killed when the Hughes 500 helicopter crashed in Loughborough Inlet around 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

BC Emergency Health Services says a third person was flown out by air ambulance, first to the Canadian Forces Base at Comox, B.C., then to hospital where they are in serious but stable condition.

West Coast Helicopters says the pilot had worked for them since 2021 and “always had a smile on his face.”

It says he was well known in the community of Port McNeill on Vancouver Island.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is deploying investigators who will arrive on-site Wednesday morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2026.

The Canadian Press