Helicopter Pilot Gary Anthony Nelson

Gary Anthony Nelson

Pilot Gary Nelson was killed in a helicopter accident while assisting detectives during a surveillance operation of a known narcotics dealer.

He was a detective in the Vice Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit. The observer in the aircraft was seriously injured in the accident when the helicopter struck the side of Tahquitz Peak, three miles east of Idyllwild in Riverside County.

Pilot Nelson was United States Navy veteran and had served with the Anaheim Police Department for eleven years. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.