Helicopter Pilot Identified as Rob Blair in Tragic Glacier National Park Crash

The identity of the helicopter pilot who tragically lost his life in the crash on Friday (Jan. 5) in Glacier National Park has been confirmed as Rob Blair.

Rob Blair was on a private helicopter journey from Calgary to Sicamous when the unfortunate incident occurred. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown, prompting investigations by the RCMP, the Transportation Safety Board, and the BC Coroners’ Service. Blair was the sole occupant and pilot of the helicopter at the time, as confirmed by his business partner, Jeff Johnston.

“Smart, business-savvy, genuine,” Johnston described Blair, reflecting on their partnership.

Johnston also mentioned that Blair was a remarkable person to work with and an excellent business partner.

Until last summer, Blair held the majority shareholder position at DCB (Dave’s Custom Boats) Performance Marine, an Arizona-based company. After retiring from his paving work, Blair joined DCB in 2011, playing a significant role in the company’s success.

“DCB wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for his contributions,” acknowledged Johnston.

DCB Performance Marine released a statement expressing their deep sorrow over Blair’s tragic demise:

“The news about Rob’s tragic helicopter crash struck a deep chord here at the DCB facility. We are profoundly saddened by this sudden loss and extend our heartfelt thoughts and condolences to the Blair family. Rob will be deeply missed but never forgotten,” read the statement.

Revelstoke Community’s Perspective

On that fateful Friday night, shrouded in fog, the Revelstoke community quickly sensed that something terrible had occurred.

“I didn’t see, I just heard,” recounted Tina Miertsch, the first person to post about the incident on the Revelstoke Community Facebook page.

In her post, Miertsch questioned the unusual presence of a plane circling over town in the dark evening, “For the last 3 hours there has been a plane circling over town, anyone know what’s going on?”

The constant presence of the aircraft overhead struck Miertsch as odd due to the infrequency of night flights in the area.

“Nothing flies here at night,” she remarked.

Although Miertsch’s Facebook post didn’t receive approval until the following morning, it quickly caught the attention of other community members. She mentioned that the aircraft continued to fly overhead for several hours into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Prior to Miertsch’s observation, the Revelstoke RCMP had been alerted around 7 p.m. by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Comox that an electronic locator transponder had been activated east of Revelstoke near Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park.

Following the crash on Friday, the search for the missing aircraft and its pilot persisted throughout Saturday. The challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions posed difficulties for the Revelstoke RCMP and Revelstoke Search and Rescue team.

On Sunday afternoon, the RCMP released a statement confirming that the helicopter had been found, but unfortunately, its sole occupant and pilot, now identified as Rob Blair, had perished in the crash.

READ MORE: BREAKING: Pilot confirmed dead after missing helicopter found near Revelstoke