Prosecutor: ‘Pure greed’ led to deadly helicopter crash

MEDFORD, Ore. — Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to sentence the vice president of a defunct Oregon helicopter company to more than 15 years in prison for his role in a crash that killed nine people in 2008.

Prosecutors say that when the U.S. Forest Service solicited bids for helicopters to be used in firefighting operations, Steven Metheny submitted proposals with altered performance charts and falsified weight and balance records.

The crash near Weaverville, California, killed the pilot, a Forest Service safety inspector and seven firefighters.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Chatfield says in a sentencing memorandum that Metheny was motivated by “pure greed.”

The Mail Tribune reports that Metheny’s attorneys have yet to respond to the memorandum, but said last fall that Metheny’s plea to filing a false statement and conspiracy to defraud the Forest Service does not constitute an admission that his crimes contributed to the crash.

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Sentencing is set for June 15.

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