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Helicopter Landing in the Bob Marshall Wilderness

And that would actually be a deal at many airports by the time you factor in landing fees charged by the airport and fees to use a general aviation FBO for parking and disembarking. That can easily exceed $500.
 
Actually got a response from the Forest Service.....seems the possible penalty is ridiculously puny but at least it is SOMETHING.....

Dear SFC ,

Thank you for your email of June 1, 2020, to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Tell Sonny regarding the helicopter sighting in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. Tell Sonny has asked the Forest Service to respond. I apologize for the delayed response.

The Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations staff investigated the incident after receiving a report on May 19, 2020, from a person traveling on horseback who saw a helicopter parked on a gravel bar on the South Fork of the Flathead River. The Forest Service, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney's Office, issued a violation notice, which was processed on June 12, 2020, through the U.S. Courts' Central Violations Bureau (CVB). The CVB handles violation notices and processes payments for infractions committed on federal property. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) identifies penalties for this violation under 36 CFR section 261.1b with a maximum penalty of a $500 fine, six months in prison, or both.

Again, thank you again for writing. If you have any questions, please contact Kurt Steele, Flathead National Forest Supervisor, at (406) 758-5250 or [email protected].

Sincerely,

/s/ Stephen Chesterton
STEPHEN CHESTERTON
Acting Director, Wilderness, and Wild and Scenic Rivers
 
That's $500 IF "a person on horseback" happens to be present during the brief drop off, and photographs your tail #...

Sheesh... forget dragging a sled into the Bob!
😒
 
It truly is a head scratcher. Don’t forget there “could be” some jail time attached but I imagine there is temptation to follow suit as word gets out of the ridiculously light fine attached.
“Hey, lets take a chopper to the Chinese Wall and have lunch for your birthday sweetheart.”
Fly in spike camp sounds sweet!
 
I think you’ll have a hard time finding a commercial pilot willing to drop you in a no landing zone. When it’s their livelihood and could jeopardize their FAA license, that’s taking a big risk. In the case above, it was these people’s chopper and they were flying it. Not many people in that position. Even folks rich enough to own their own chopper usually have hired pilots. I agree that penalties for this should have been much more severe, but I don’t think it’s going to results in a rash of helicopters dropping people in Wilderness areas. What it will do is send a message to those two idiots that their money allows them to do whatever they want.
 
Make me curious what penalties would be levied if someone launched and landed a drone, wheeled a game cart, etc... if someone can land a helicopter on a sand bar to fish the wilderness rivers for a whopping $500 fine.

The precedence isn't simply for hired helicopter pilots, etc. Imo.
 
Next time can they just pay the $500 up front and go in again? That's not a fine, that's a fee.
 
In all reality, the lawyer that kept them out of jail probably cost a pretty penny and a half. $500 is crazy... add a zero and that starts to sound a little more reasonable
 
Dsnow9 said:
In all reality, the lawyer that kept them out of jail probably cost a pretty penny and a half. $500 is crazy... add a zero and that starts to sound a little more reasonable
Click to expand...
Two zeroes maybe. I've been selling my hay for about 3 years to a man that is friends with the folks that caught them. Guess things got tense when the cameras came out, and the people with the chopper were dicks the whole time. Small world. mtmuley
 
get-n-birdy said:
Do they get a discount if they pre pay for the next 10 trips in.
Click to expand...
Wilderness Act punch card... nice ring to it.

As for jail time... first offense, "upstanding citizens", a humble error... no challenge there. I'm sure their attorney is on annual retainer - maybe even payroll. Haha!
 
44hunter45 said:
The chopper could just as easily have had Trump 2020 and "God Bless Texas" bumper stickers on it.
Click to expand...
Could have been a flying saucer too. Could have been a Black Hawk. Except it wasn't. We are dealing with a fact, not supposition. And you know, rifles are regularly seized for hunting violations in Montana, so repurposing the helo seems like a great idea.
 
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