William Bart Colantuono, a helicopter pilot from season 3 of Ax Men on the history channel, was killed this week in a chopper accident.
The 54-year-old pilot crashed his helicopter near Detroit Lake in Oregon on Monday afternoon. Witnesses said that Colantuono had been transporting logs from the town of Idanha when he crashed.
An official cause of the accident has not been determined but KPTV reports that it may have had something to do with the choppers load.
The news station reports that a loud snap was heard before the crash. Logs then fell to the ground and witnesses say that they then saw the helicopter flip upside down before crashing into the forest.
Colantuono was the only person on board at the time of the crash.
Linn County deputies said that Colantuono released the logs on purpose, indicating that he knew that something was wrong before the crash.
The History Channel said in a statement : “All of us at HISTORY and Original Productions, along with our Ax Men team, would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Bart. He was an important part of Ax Men when he appeared in season three and his talents will be greatly missed.”
The Ax Men pilot was a former Navy man with more than 15,000 hours of flying experience. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the crash.
