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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 7, 2005 Erickson Air-Crane employee dies in Italy crash By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune A Rogue River man was killed Wednesday when an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter crashed at a Rome airport during takeoff. An Eagle Point resident and two others on board were injured. Marty Erickson, 49, a mechanic for the Central Point-based company, died in the crash. Fellow mechanic Troy Niemeyer, 30, of Eagle Point received minor injuries when the Erickson S-64F helitanker went down at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, said company spokesman Dennis Hubbard. "It comes as a great shock and makes us all very sad," Hubbard said. Erickson pilot Chris Woods, 31, of Washington state, and Italian pilot Floriano Finmore, 50, also received minor injuries in the crash, Hubbard said. Details were sketchy on how the crash occurred. Hubbard could not confirm a report in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that stated the helicopter went down five minutes after take-off, when it was about 30 feet off the ground. Advertisement Hubbard disputed the Italian newspaper’s statement that the S-64F had been forced to make an emergency landing earlier this week. "That’s not the case — this helicopter had just been assembled," Hubbard said. "This was its first flight." The craft was undergoing an initial hover-controllability check when it crashed, Hubbard said. The helicopter was built by Erickson Air-Crane in Central Point for use by the Italian forest service. In October 2003, the company signed a $95 million deal with the State Forestry Corps of Italy to build four S-64s. The helicopters are equipped for firefighting with a 2,650-gallon tank system and foam cannon. A woman who answered the telephone at Erickson’s home in Rogue River declined to comment. Hubbard said Erickson was not related to the Central Point company’s founders. A telephone message left at Niemeyer’s home was not returned. Last August, an S-64E helicopter built by Erickson and leased by a French company for firefighting efforts crashed on the French island of Corsica. A pilot from British Columbia and his French co-pilot died in the incident. The cause of Wednesday’s crash remains under investigation, Hubbard said. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail Erickson Air- Crane employee dies in Italy crash ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Air Purifiers Advertisement s