Inspector Kirk B. Brookbush

Kirk B. Brookbush

Inspector Kirk Brookbush and Police Officer James Dougherty were killed when their helicopter crashed near Crows Landing, Stanislaus County.

The officers were flying a Bell Jet Ranger OH-58 helicopter on a routine flight from a maintenance facility in Tulare County to San Francisco. They requested a flight level below 1,000 feet because of foggy conditions. After the request was made, at approximately 9:00 pm, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. After an all-night search, the wreckage was discovered at 8:30 am the next morning in a field near I-5.

Inspector Brookbush was an experienced pilot who flew in the Vietnam War. He had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 28 years. He was survived by his wife and two children.