A Calgary man is dead after his helicopter crashed 12 kilometres southwest of Slave Lake.

The RCMP was first alerted to the incident when they received an emergency beacon around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The pilot was the only person on board; he was en-route to Calgary when his aircraft crashed into a hillside.

The 38-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

It took several hours to reach the remote site, which is being described as a heavily-wooded area.

Public Information Officer Geoffrey Driscoll from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development tells 660News they were called in to assist.

“We sent out three firefighters who have experience in this, they went out and cut a helipad and first-responders were able to get their helicopter in,” he says. “It’s something that we’ve done in the past and we’re certainly willing to help.”

Two private helicopter companies from Slave Lake, Sloan Helicopters and Highland Helicopters, then began to ferry in rescuers.

Captain Robert Landriault of the Canadian Forces says they sent in a Griffin Helicopter from CFB Cold Lake to help reach the pilot.

“There’s also a Hercules aircraft that was dispatched from Winnipeg, Manitoba as well but it was released and it never made in on scene,” he explains.

Not much is known about the pilot.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Roberta McKale says his aircraft was registered to a Peace River company where he worked.

“I think that this is a tragic event and hopefully with the investigation that comes up, some answers get sought,” she says.

McKale believes bad weather could be to blame; there was strong winds and blowing snow at the time of the incident.

Federal investigators have been called in to determine what caused the deadly crash.

The identity of the victim has not been released.