Pilot in illegal Grand Teton National Park landing: 'We were not having a picnic'

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man is facing federal charges for landing a helicopter in Grand Teton National Park.

Helicopter pilot Peter Smith, of Gunnison, faces two misdemeanors in the incident, according to the National Park Service. If convicted, he could owe $10,000 in fines and spend a year in jail.

"The unauthorized landing of helicopters is prohibited on the lands and waters within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park in order to protect wildlife and other natural resources and to preserve the visitor experience," the NPS said in a release.

Smith is accused of illegally landing his helicopter at Moran Bay, on the west shore of Jackson Lake, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 24.

The helicopter landed in an area inaccessible except by boat or by hiking at least 10 miles round trip. Park rangers who heard about the landing reached the site at the foot of the craggy Teton Range by boat.

When park rangers arrived, they found Smith with a companion having a picnic by the lake, the NPS said.

Reached on the phone by The Associated Press, Smith said bad weather forced him to land, and he was within his rights to do so under Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

"We were trying to cross over the Tetons and we couldn't, so we landed. We were not having a picnic. We were landing," he told the AP.

The Teton Range is "notorious for bad weather," and his passenger was ill, he added. He declined to say where they were coming from and going to, and if it was a hired or personal flight.

Smith is the owner of West Elk Air in Gunnison, according to the NPS.

He is set to go before a federal judge next month in Jackson, Wyoming. Smith faces two federal counts: "operating or using aircraft on lands or waters other than at locations designated pursuant to special regulations" and "use of aircraft shall be in accordance with regulations of the FAA."

It's not the first time Smith has gotten in trouble for flying at a national park. The National Park Service said he was cited in February for flying a fixed-wing aircraft below minimum safe altitude in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. He was fined $350.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.