Pilot injured in chopper crash on Calif. highway

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) — A helicopter landed upside-down on a California highway in Salinas today, slowing Labor Day weekend traffic for part of the morning but causing only minor injuries to the pilot.

The Bell 47 helicopter, owned by Gomes Farm Air Service, Inc. and used to spray crops, crashed onto Highway 101 shortly after 6 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said.

It was removed from the road and placed on a flatbed truck at 9:30 a.m., clearing all lanes.

The crash happened near Salinas Municipal Airport, and no other vehicles were involved.

CHP Officer Robert Lehman said the pilot, Frank Gomes, Jr., was the only one aboard and complained of suffering vertigo just before the crash.

Gomes walked away from the wreck but was taken to the hospital for evaluation of pain.