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Walt Disney chief killed in chopper crash

ELKO, Nev (Reuter): Frank Wells, president of Walt Disney Co. and one of the architects of its success over the last decade, was killed in a helicopter crash Sunday while returning from a skiing trip in eastern Nevada, officials said.

Wells was one of three people killed when the Bell 206 helicopter they were flying in crashed into a mountainside near Lamoille, some 300 miles (480 km) east of Reno, Elko County Sheriff Neil Harris said.

Wells, 62, who was also chief operating officer, had formed a winning partnership with Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner since 1984, revitalizing the famous company and sending its stock price soaring with a string of movie hits and other successful ventures.

The helicopter -- carrying Wells, two other skiers, a guide and the pilot -- crashed around 4 p.m. (2300 GMT) as the group returned from a day's skiing in the remote Ruby Mountains of eastern Nevada.

Harris said the exact cause of the crash was unknown, but he said the helicopter had apparently experienced mechanical problems.

In addition to Wells, skier Beverly Johnson and pilot Dave Walton were killed in the crash, Harris said.

Ski guide Paul Scannell and Johnson's husband Mike Hoover were injured. They were first to Elko General Hospital and then to the Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, Harris said.

Wells' group was heli-skiing in the remote mountains. The helicopter drops skiers at the top of the mountain, allowing them to ski down.

Another helicopter was sent in to bring out the crash victims, he said.

Eisner said in a statement issued in Burbank, California, that there were no words to express his shock and sense of loss over Wells' death.