The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said a 65-year-old helicopter pilot died Friday when his aircraft crash-landed near Mehama, in rural eastern Marion County.
Officials said Terry Harchenko of Salem was spraying a Christmas tree field prior to the crash. There were no other people in the helicopter.
Investigators are still trying to determine what led to the incident.
According to a business registry kept by the Oregon Secretary of State, Harchenko was the president of Salem-based Industrial Aircraft, Inc.
Oregon is the leading grower of Christmas trees in the United States. Helicopters are often used in the production and harvest of the crop.
