Get to the chopper!: Helicopter pilot charged after ice cream run

A craving for some cold ice cream has landed a Saskatchewan helicopter pilot in hot water.

According to the RCMP, a 34-year-old man from Leroy is facing a charge of dangerous operation of an aircraft after he put down his helicopter in a Tisdale parking lot … so his passenger could run into a nearby Dairy Queen to buy an ice cream cake.

The Mounties said the Tisdale RCMP got a call July 31 at about 5 p.m., that a chopper had shaken things up by landing in what they called “a high-traffic parking lot.”

“When it landed, the helicopter blew up dust and debris through the area, which includes schools, an aquatic centre and more,” the RCMP media release said.

The pilot is licensed to fly the helicopter, but the RCMP said it’s illegal to land where he did. He was charged Aug. 4 and is to appear in Melfort court on Sept. 7.