Editing Francis Gary Powers (section)

==Death==
{{Main|1977 Encino helicopter crash}}
Powers was piloting a helicopter for Los Angeles TV station KNBC Channel 4 over the San Fernando Valley on August 1, 1977, when the aircraft crashed, killing him and his cameraman George Spears. They had been recording video following brush fires in [[Santa Barbara County]] in the KNBC helicopter and were heading back when the crash occurred.<ref>{{cite news|title=Widow of U-2 pilot Powers dies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RDxOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6093%2C248587|publisher=The Spokesman-Review |date=August 2, 1974}}</ref>

His [[Bell 206]] JetRanger helicopter ran out of fuel and crashed at the [[Sepulveda Dam]] recreational area in [[Encino, California]], several miles short of its intended landing site at [[Burbank Airport]]. The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] report attributed the probable cause of the crash to pilot error.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=45694&key=0&queryId=53a485b6-1e88-45e0-a89d-b405d7400afb&pgno=7&pgsize=50|title=NTSB Identification: LAX77FA060 |author=|date=|website=ntsb.gov|access-date=January 17, 2022}}</ref> According to Powers' son, an aviation mechanic had repaired a faulty fuel gauge without informing Powers, who subsequently misread it.<ref name=gary>{{cite web|url=http://garypowers.org/1962-spy-exchange-of-powers-for-abel/|title=The 1962 Spy Exchange of Powers for Abel|website=garypowers.org|publisher=World Press|access-date=February 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519123233/http://garypowers.org/1962-spy-exchange-of-powers-for-abel/|archive-date=May 19, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

It is surmised that, at the last moment, he noticed children playing in the area and directed the helicopter elsewhere to avoid landing on them. He might have landed safely if not for the last-second deviation, which compromised his [[Autorotation|autorotative]] descent.<ref name=gary /> Powers was survived by his wife, children (Claudia Dee and Francis Gary Powers Jr.), and five sisters. He is buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] as an Air Force veteran.<ref name="Arlington">{{cite web |title= Francis Gary Powers – Captain, United States Air Force Pilot, CIA|url=https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/francisg.htm#:~:text=Powers%20will%20be%20buried%20with%20her%20husband%20in,by%20a%20Russian%20missile%20on%20May%201%2C%201960 |date=January 10, 2023}}</ref>