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Former Sacramento TV helicopter pilot killed in Hawaii crash

Former KOVR-TV helicopter pilot Paul Matero appears in an undated photo. (Photo: Susan Olsen/Facebook)

The pilot of a sightseeing helicopter that crashed in Hawaii has ties to Northern California, including one Sacramento-area television station.

Paul Matero, 69, was named as the pilot of a Safari Helicopters aircraft that crashed last week on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

His death was confirmed by his sister Susan Olson. She asid Matero had lived in Hawaii for more than a decade and planned to retire from his career as a pilot in early 2020.

Matero was born in Stockton and lived in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, according to KOVR-TV (Channel 13). In the early 1980s, he flew a helicopter for the Sacramento TV station.

Matero is survived by his wife, Donna Dublin, four children and three grandchildren.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said KOVR was based in Stockton in the 1980s. The station was — and still is — licensed to Stockton, and while it maintained a separate Stockton bureau in the 1980s, the station had moved its main operations to Sacramento by then. 

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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