July 13, 2005, Sacramento Sheriff’s Department helicopter STAR VI was on a patrol flight near Lake Natoma in the North East area of Sacramento County. The helicopter suffered catastrophic engine failure which brought the aircraft down. Deputy Sheriff Joe Keivernagal, Pilot, and Deputy Sheriff Kevin Blount, Tactical Flight Officer, were killed. Deputy Sheriff Eric Henrickson, Tactical Flight Officer Trainee, was critically injured. Deputy Henrickson was medically retired from the Sheriff’s Department in 2007.

A permanent memorial statue was erected at Lake Natoma in the memory of Deputies Keivernagal and Blount and to recognize the pain and suffering of Deputy Henrickson. The statue was paid for with donations from private persons and businesses, largely through the sale of special memorial t-shirts. An artist was commissioned and through the donations and cooperation of the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the California State Parks, the statue was dedicated on the anniversary date of the accident in 2006. It stands in the park across Lake Natoma from where the helicopter came to rest on that tragic day back in 2005.

AIROPSCOPS.COM was founded in 2007 by members of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, Air Operations Bureau. The goal and intent of AIROPSCOPS.COM is to raise money to establish a fund to preserve and maintain the memorial statue from this point forward into the future for generations to come.

AIROPSCOPS.COM is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and all donations are tax deductible. ID# 20-8656413