Federal officials on Wednesday announced the identity of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot who died in a helicopter crash in the East County community of Potrero earlier this week.
Air interdiction agent Jeffrey Canas was killed around 11:20 a.m. Monday when the Eurocopter AS350 he was piloting crashed in a rural area near Round Potrero Road north of State Route 94, authorities said. said in a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
A CBP spokesperson said earlier this week that the pilot was conducting a border patrol mission as part of the agency’s air and maritime operations, another division of the agency.
Kanas was the only person on board the helicopter when it crashed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation.
No further information was available Wednesday.
