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Friends said Perry Krinitt, a Bozeman man who was killed in a helicopter crash in Idaho on Tuesday, would have appreciated a Thursday tribute.

Fellow pilot Mike Carisch took to the air in his own red and white chopper, towing a 20x30 foot American flag banner large enough to nearly dwarf the flying machine.

"I'm doing this to honor my friend," Carisch said. "It's a salute to him. There's no words to describe how we're all feeling."

Carisch took off from the Gallatin Field Airport around noon and flew over Krinitt's house near Belgrade before heading over to fly across Bozeman. He flew for about 45 minutes.

(August 31, 2010) A Bozeman-area man, Perry Krinitt, is among three people who died after the helicopter he was piloting crashed on a downtown street in the town of Kamiah in Idaho, about halfway between Lewiston and Missoula.

The names of the other victims are being withheld to give officials a chance to tell relatives about the tragedy.

A spokesman with the Idaho Department of Fish & Game says two agency biologists were on board the helicopter conducting fisheries surveys.

No injuries were reported on the ground.

Kamiah resident Mick Landmark says the helicopter looked like it clipped the eaves of a U.S. Forest Service-owned house before colliding with a travel trailer about a block from his downtown insurance office.