Pilot charged for illegal Grand Teton National Park landing blames bad weather

By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

A helicopter pilot faces up to $10,000 in fines and a year in jail for making an illegal landing in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. National Park Service officials say Peter Smith landed June 24 on the western shore of Jackson Lake. Park officials said Monday that rangers arrived by boat to find Smith and a female companion having a picnic. Reached by phone, Smith tells The Associated Press there was no picnic — he hit bad weather while trying to cross the Teton Range and had to land. Smith is charged with two misdemeanors and is scheduled for a court date in August.