Beaverton man among seven killed in Peru helicopter crash
AURORA, Ore. – A Beaverton, Ore. man was among the five Americans killed when a helicopter crashed in Peru on Monday.
Two Peruvian crew members were also killed in the crash.
63-year-old Darrel Birkes grew up in Beaverton, but moved to Peru about 15 years ago. His brother Marvin still lives in Oregon.
“He loved his job; that was his life,” Marvin Birkes said. “Really tragic, it really upset me because he was my best friend.”
Marvin said his brother lived all over the world working on helicopter crews.
“He lived in New Guinea for two years before the Peru deal,” Marvin said. “New Guinea then Australia, Canada, Alaska. He had just been all over the place.”
Despite the globetrotting, Darrel found his way back to Boring, Ore. to see his brother for a month each year.
“We’d split wood and cut wood and do everything,” Marvin said. “He didn’t want to sit around and sit still.”
Marvin also noted his brother’s generosity.
“He didn’t care what he had, he’d give it to you. I used to get mad at him because he’d give all of his stuff away all the time,” Marvin remembered. “He was just a very generous person.”
The helicopter that crashed was owned by Columbia Helicopters of Aurora, Ore, where Darrell had worked for decades.
Read more: The latest on the crash from the Associated Press in Peru
“This is a very sad day for Columbia Helicopters,” said company president Michael Fahey. “We may operate globally, but we are still very much a family. The loss of our employees hurts deeply, and I knew most of these men personally. Our employees are grieving, and we are praying for the family members of the friends we lost.”
Fahey said all seven people killed were Columbia employees:
- Dann Immel, Command Pilot (hometown: Gig Harbor, Wash.)
- Igor Castillo, Copilot (Peru)
- Edwin Cordova, Maintenance Crew Chief (Melbourne, Florida)
- Luis Ramos, Aircraft Mechanic (Peru)
- Jaime Pickett, Aircraft Mechanic (Clarksville, Tenn.)
- Darrel Birkes, Senior Load Manager (Peru, originally from Beaverton, Ore.)
- Leon Bradford, Load Manager (Santaquin, Utah)
Witnesses told reporters in Peru that the Boeing Model 234 Chinook helicopter lost control and started spewing smoke before crashing. It was under contract to help with petroleum exploration operations.
KATU looked into the helicopter’s safety record and did not find any black marks. Columbia Helicopters was founded in 1957 and quickly gained notoriety when one of its helicopter crews helped rescued more than a dozen sailors from a sinking ship near Coos Bay.
posting for my brother darrel who lost his life in this terrible accident, will miss him very,very much, my heart is out for all the other families that lost a loved one in this accident in Peru..
One sad thing is, some people are posting on Facebook the pictures of the wreckage. The pictures are also on various news channels.
Some incredible folks lost their lives while living their passion and that should be enough as we wish them God's Speed!!
I know, I know.... Who needs to research and get facts before they write up a news story, right?
Jeesh, do you guys even bother to do research?
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"quickly gained notoriety when one of its helicopter crews helped rescued more than a dozen sailors from a sinking ship near Coos Bay.'
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The 'helicopter crews' was Wes Lematta, the founder of the company. He made multiple trips between the shore and the sinking vessel using a Hiller 12B helicopter.Â
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http://www.colheli.com/about_us/company_history/
I know it's nit-picky, K2, but the aircraft is not a 'Boeing Model 234 Chinook'. Boeing released the rights to the type certificate, and Columbia Helicopters is in the process of acquiring it. The aircraft is a type 234, or a Columbia type 234. The 'chinook' designation is specific to engine and airframe type, I don't know if the one in Peru was actually a chinook or not.Â
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http://www.colheli.com/operations/our_aircraft/
@MarkKpic I flew a Chinook for CHI many years ago when the type was new to them. Calling it a BV234 is correct, as is the Chinook name. They are derived from, and very very close to the military Chinook. Great helicopter, very stable and easy to fly, but fast and a muscular lifter. One thing I have noted from reading many articles on this tragedy is that since I flew the Chinook the max gross weight has been raised from the 48,000 lbs when I flew it to 51,000 lbs currently. I know there is a detailed process with the FAA to change the limits on an aircraft and that CHI is very safety oriented, and I was not around for the process to know what changes may or may not have been made to the Chinook to permit this, but in my gut I am wondering if in the end we will discover that raising the max gross weight overstressed something and it took years for the increased stress to finally cause a failure.
 @Phil Salvatore  @MarkKpic My comment, and my vented frustration is not relevent to the story above. It was in poor taste for me to post it on what amounts to a memorial to a man who died.Â
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There are points I could choose to make, but this is not the appropriate forum for them.Â
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My sincere condolences to the men & women @ CHI, as well as the friends and family of Mr Birkes.
Boeing Vertol
This is just tragic, condolences to the families of all the men. Â
Our deepest condolences for family, Columbia is family, loss felt by many....blessings all around.