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A Belgrade man is among three people who died after the helicopter he was piloting crashed on a downtown street in a small town in Idaho. Kamiah is about half way between Lewiston and Missoula.

His family confirms Perry Krinitt was killed in the Tuesday accident. Krinitt was married less than a year and his wife was waiting for him at a fueling station.

(Photos courtesy of Robert Millage)

A family friend told Montana's News Station that Krinitt was an exceptional pilot, very experienced, including in dangerous conditions.

Kamiah resident Mick Landmark says the helicopter looked like it clipped the eaves of a U.S. Forest Service-owned house before colliding with a travel trailer about a block from his downtown insurance office.

Officials are now working to figure out what caused the chopper to go down.

"There was a helicopter crash this morning [Tuesday] at about 9:30 a.m.," said Kamiah Marshall Chief Joe Newman. "It landed on Forest Service property over here on 5th and Pine Street. Three people have unfortunately died as a result of that crash."

The chopper crashed into a trailer next to a home and Newman said no one was there when the crash happened. However, just across the street are various homes, even a senior living center. Residents said it was a devastating wake-up call.

"I was in the kitchen and I heard a big crash," said witness Alicia Oatman. "It shook the building and the lights flickered, so I thought someone had hit the building. I ran outside to see what happened and I see this trailer over here just smoking away so I thought it was an explosion on the trailer. You get a little closer and you realize it was a helicopter."

"We heard a loud crash and we thought someone had crashed into the building," added witness Owen Slickpoo. "There was a point that even the impact hitting the ground kind of made a little shake."

Eyewitnesses said they saw the chopper struggling in the air before it hit the ground, sputtering and finally exploding, showering debris down on the community, as much as five blocks away at Kamiah High School.

"We would ask people to contact the Lewis County Sheriff's Office at 937-2447, if they have found any debris," said Newman. "Let us know so we can come and collect that."

Idaho Fish and game has confirmed the chopper was carrying two fisheries biologists and their pilot. The biologists were counting salmon redds on the Selway River.

47-year-old Larry Barrett and 34-year-old Dani Schiff, both of Lewiston, were the biologists involved in that crash. The helicopter belongs to Leading Edge Aviation out of Clarkston.

Idaho Fish and game had contracted with Leading Edge for this job. The FAA will be taking over the investigation from here to determine the cause of the crash.

This is the second helicopter crash this year for Fish and Game officials. Back in January, a helicopter went down in the Kelly Creek area on the North Fork of the Clearwater River. None of the three people on board suffered life-threatening injuries.

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