Blackfeet man killed in helicopter accident
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Filed Under:
National
Michael MacDonald, a 26-year-old member of the
Blackfeet Nation of Montana, was among six victims of a helicopter collision in Arizona.
MacDonald was fighting a fire in the Grand Canyon when he was bit by an insect and suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction from the treatment he received for the bite. He was being airlifted to the Flagstaff Medical Center when his medical helicopter collided with another one on Sunday afternoon.
MacDonald was part of the Chief Mountain Hot Shot crew. He is believed to be the first Blackfeet firefighter to die on the job.
"The whole community is taken back by this thing," Tyson Runningwolf, the tribe's fire management officer, told The Great Falls Tribune. "Chief Mountain is our last warrior. They are an elite firefighting crew."
MacDonald's girlfriend was due to give birth to the couple's first child in August.
Get the Story:
Browning mourns Hot Shot killed in helicopter collision (The Great Falls Tribune 7/1)
Helicopter crash leaves a mother-to-be in mourning (7/1)
Experienced staffers explain safety issues (The Arizona Republic 7/1)
Air ambulance safety questioned
(AP 7/1)
Related Stories:
Blackfeet fire crews battle blazes in California (6/24)
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