Loved and admired as a great friend, with many friends throughout the world, Andrei Pantchenko was born and raised in the city of Sochi, Russia. In 1988, Andrei graduated from the Volchansk Aviation College and spent the next ten years in Russia as a civil helicopter pilot. During that period, under contract, he also served as a firefighter in Spain, France and Malta. In 1998, Andrei ventured to the United States, and landed in Seattle, Washington. He earned his U.S helicopter pilot license and moved on to California, where he worked as a firefighter for Heavy Lift Helicopters. On August 4, 2006í__ Andrei and his fellow USFS officer, Terry Wayne Jacobs, died when their Sikorsky helicopter crashed in to the Klamath River while attempting to save the forest and protect the forest firefighters on the ground. His wife, Tatiana and her son, Andrei - both living in Russia - survive him.