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Tribune

An Albuquerque police officer walks around a downed helicopter in northeast Albuquerque just north of I-25 near Candelaria Road. The lone occupant, an unidentified pilot, was not injured in the 10:11 a.m. crash this morning.

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About two dozen people ran to the aid of an unidentified helicopter pilot this morning after he crashed in a parking lot at Aztec Boulevard and Vassar Drive Northeast.

"He seemed to be unconscious, but then he started moving" said Margaret Turner, who was working inside Anderson Air Corps Heating and Cooling when the helicopter crashed at 10:11 a.m. "He kept saying, `I want out. I want out.' "

Turner and about 25 others from the surrounding businesses rushed to the pilot, who was uninjured except for minor cuts.

Turner said someone on the scene had a knife and cut the pilot's seat belt. Some power lines had been knocked down and there was gas flowing onto the pavement. Turner and others pulled the pilot from the helicopter, and he managed to walk away from the wreck.

"We were just standing around talking," said Mike Salmon, who owns Anderson Air Corps. "Then suddenly, bang, pop, crash! "

The pilot was flying a small helicopter - that appeared to be homemade - when he lost power, Albuquerque Fire Department spokesman Capt. Mike Paiz said.

"The issue is the power lines and fuel," Paiz said. Workers stopped the flow of power and cleared away the fuel, he said. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, along with State Police.

Margaret Turner's son, Josh Turner, was unloading a truck when he saw the helicopter lose control.

"It was swerving," he said, "tilting side to side. It was a really small helicopter. I saw it hit the power lines, and there was all this popping, and then what sounded like an explosion."

Considering the crash, Josh Turner said he was surprised to see the pilot walk away.

The pilot was not taken to a hospital, Paiz said.

"The guy was OK," Josh Turner said. "He had hardly any scratches. I couldn't believe it."