J.R. Cook Family Escapes Tragedy By One Hour
A well known family from Lawrence County barely escaped a vacation tragedy by one hour on April 4th during a Smokey Mountain Helicopter Tour.
The same pilot that had just taken former LCHS principal J.R. Cook and his daughter on a helicopter ride, crashed and the pilot Jason Dahl along with 4 other passengers perished about an hour after they had departed the carrier.
The 1977 Bell 206L LongRanger, operated by Sevierville-based Smoky Mountain Helicopters, apparently struck the ground near the top of a ridge line behind Tanger Outlet Mall about 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, said Luke Schiada, National Transportation Safety Board senior safety investigator.
During an interview with the local Tennessee news, Cook said he was just thankful that he and his daughter were safe, yet saddened by the fact that it had the accident had just killed the same pilot that they had just been with.
(See WBIR.com interview HERE)
He said that his wife, Jill, had been even more upset because she could have lost her husband and daughter on that day. He described how his daughter had been nervous, and the very pilot that was killed had talked to her and calmed her nerves.
Cook described the day as an “OH MY GOSH” day realizing how quickly your life could be gone, turning what was meant to be a happy memory into a somber one.
Aubree, the
The Cooks went to Smoky Mountain Helicopters on Monday afternoon at 2:30. They were in the air within minutes.
“Aubree got a little nervous during take off, but the pilot was great he was talking back and forth with her through the headset and she thought that was pretty neat,” said JR Cook.
