A U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot who was killed earlier this week in a helicopter crash in the East County community of Potrero was identified Wednesday, federal officials said.
Air interdiction Agent Jeffrey Kanas died when the Eurocopter AS350 he was flying crashed around 11:20 a.m. on Monday in a rural area near Round Potrero Road, north of state Route 94, officials said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
A CBP spokesperson said earlier this week the pilot was conducting a border security mission as part of the agency’s air and marine operations, a separate component of the agency.
Kanas was the sole person on board when the helicopter crashed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation.
No further information was available on Wednesday.
