The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

GARFIELD COUNTY – One crew member was killed and two were injured when a private helicopter flying under contract with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) crashed in Garfield County while performing a mule deer study on Sat., Jan. 27.

The pilot, Blake Malo, 33, Clarkston and crew member Garrett Bradshaw, 30, Eagle Point, Ore., were injured and taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. Crew member Benjamin M. Poirier, 19, Berthous, Colo. did not survive the crash.

All three men were employed by Hells Canyon Helicopters, which operated the craft.

“This is a tragi...