Colorado man charged after illegally landing helicopter inside Grand Teton National Park

MOOSE, Wy. (KRDO)-- A Colorado man has been charged and is scheduled to appear in court after he illegally landed a helicopter inside the Grand Teton National Park. 

According to the National Park Service, on Saturday, June 24, at around 3 p.m., Grand Teton National Park law enforcement rangers received a report that a helicopter had illegally landed at Moran Bay on the west shore of Jackson Lake, inside the Grand Teton National Park. 

Rangers reported finding the helicopter and its pilot, Peter Smith, a resident of Gunnison Colorado, with a companion picnicking along the lake. 

National Park Service officials stated Smith, the owner of West Elk Air in Gunnison, was charged with two violations under the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Each violation is a Class B misdemeanor, according to the National Park Service, and could include up to a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail. 

The National Park Service stated Smith was previously cited for flying a fixed-wing aircraft below minimum safe altitude in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park just four months ago in February 2023–going against Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. 

Smith paid the $530 fine set by the judge. 

Currently, he is scheduled to appear in court before a federal judge in Jackson, Wyoming in August.