A Bell Jet Ranger was shot twice with a high powered rifle while it was flying under contract to do aerial ignition using a heli-torch on a prescribed fire in Idaho. The pilot was 69-year old Vietnam War veteran Earl Palmer, operating the ship for Hillcrest Aircraft Company out of Lewiston, Idaho.

Mr. Palmer says there were four shots, two of which struck the helicopter. The pilot was quoted as saying that a control tube was struck and cracked by a bullet. He said the helicopter was “within minutes of coming apart at which point the helicopter would have wrecked.”

The last time he was shot down was in Vietnam when the gunship he was flying sustained a bullet through the engine, and he ended up in  a rice paddy.

Several people heard the shots and a suspect was identified within 24 hours. The FBI is working with local authorities to determine what charges will be filed.

The prescribed fire was on land owned by Potlatch Corporation near Clarkia, Idaho. Check out the video below.