A sightseeing helicopter based just outside Cherokee flipped upside down Saturday evening (April 30) during take off. The pilot was not seriously injured and no tourists were on board.

Some residents in the area hoped the accident would put an end to Cherokee Helicopters’ popular four-minute out-and-back rides at $15 a person. A coalition called Save Our Skies recently launched a campaign against the chopper. Immediate neighbors say the noise of the helicopter taking off and landing all day, as well as the smell of fuel generated from the idling chopper, prevents them from sitting on their porch or having their windows open in summer. Some who live under the primary out-and-back route have also gotten irritated with the flights.

“A bunch of people have been praying that the helicopter would just bust and no one would get hurt but that it couldn’t fly anymore,” said Libby Abbott with Save Our Skies.

Cherokee Helicopter Manager James Garst said a spare helicopter from the company’s sister operation in Tennessee, Smoky Mountain Helicopter, will be transferred to Cherokee and will be operating again by Friday.

“We have plenty of helicopters. It’s an unfortunate accident, but no one was hurt and that’s the good thing,” Garst said. Garst said the $1 million aircraft was destroyed, but that insurance will cover it.

“Demand is great for Cherokee,” Garst said. “People came to that heliport Sunday knowing we had crashed the day before wanting to know when we would be back up and running again because they wanted to fly.”

Save Our Skies members hope the accident will deter some customers and force the helicopter to close down.

“This was an unfortunate accident and we were lucky that no one was seriously hurt this time — that no one standing waiting to ride the copter or no one driving down the highway was hit by rudder or prop shrapnel,” said Jim Farris, a locksmith in Cherokee who lives near the flight path. “We were also lucky it didn’t crash on the hospital, the school, the casino or into the highway and that it didn’t crash on any of our homes. We hope this will finally initiate some action in protecting the folks in this community from this unnecessary danger.”

The helicopter is located on a two-acre tract in Jackson County surrounded by the reservation on three sides. The highway is primarily commercial but does abut a residential area.

“If they are going to fly that kind of helicopter, they need to put it somewhere where it will not be a nuisance and where it will be safe for people,” Abbott said. “I don’t think it is safe for the environment. Plus, it’s not good for people’s hearts and blood pressure.”

Abbott’s father has prostate cancer and at times can’t rest because of the helicopter, she said.

Garst said the accident was the result of “dynamic roll over,” which can occur when the helicopter does not lift off in a level fashion. The landing gear on one side of the chopper remains in contact with the ground as the other side lifts off. The side touching the ground creates a pivot point. The helicopter starts to spin around that pivot point and flips.

The Federal Aviation Administration investigated the accident and will issue a report on its findings, including the cause. The report will not be ready for a few weeks, according to an FAA spokesperson in Atlanta.