BILLINGS — Four people died when a helicopter crashed near Ekalaka in eastern Montana on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. According to a statement on Facebook from the political campaign of Darren Bailey and Aaron Del Mar in Illinois, the four people who died were Bailey's son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.

Maj. Tyler R. Braconi, 35, has been identified as the pilot who died in a helicopter incident last week, according to a statement by the Marine Corps.