Man pleads not guilty in Idaho helicopter shooting | News

WALLACE, Idaho (AP) -- A northern Idaho man says he's not guilty of shooting at a helicopter nearly two years ago.

The Lewiston Tribune reports that 58-year-old John Ernest Ross entered the not guilty plea to a felony charge of interfering with or destruction of an aircraft in Shoshone County's 1st District Court on Monday. A trial has not yet been scheduled.

Prosecutors say on Oct. 14, 2010, Ross fired four shots at a helicopter owned by Hillcrest Aircraft Co. of Lewiston, hitting it twice. The pilot, Earl Palmer, was doing controlled burn work over Potlatch Corp. land in northern Idaho at the time, and he was able to land safely.