Two Bear Air pilot recounts ordeal in sky above standoff

The pilot of the Two Bear Air helicopter involved in last week's armed standoff said that while the aircraft and its crew survived unscathed, they were repeatedly targeted by a laser sight as they flew in support of area law enforcement.  

"The laser was hitting the aircraft and he was pulling the trigger, that's for sure," Rob Cherot said of 56-year-old Travis Kurt Myers, who faces multiple felony charges in Flathead County District Court following the Sept. 4 standoff. "We were trying to stay moving and stay a safe distance outward to lessen the chance of getting hit." 

Cherot, a search and rescue pilot with Two Bear Air with 20 years of experience in the cockpit, said that the three-man team aboard the helicopter received reports of gunfire as they took to the sky that morning. They sought to maintain a safe distance while aiding officers on the ground, he said.