Helicopter Pilot Cited for Landing in Grand Teton National Park
Officials say they found him having a picnic. He claims bad weather forced him down.
National Park Service
A pilot landed a helicopter in a secluded area of Grand Teton National Park and was having a picnic with a female companion when rangers showed up, the National Park Service said. Peter Smith, owner West Elk Air, faces a $10,000 fine after being cited for the June 24 incident—but he claims bad weather, not hunger pangs, forced him down. “We were trying to cross over the Tetons and we couldn’t, so we landed. We were not having a picnic. We were landing,” he told The Associated Press.
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