Probe continues into reports of star’s ride in military chopper

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — State officials continued to investigate reports Wednesday that NASCAR driver Bill Elliott was allowed to fly a military-style helicopter during a drug surveillance mission.
Drug agents had seized marijuana plants during the operation but had to cool their heels while state troopers gave Elliott a ride, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The June 28 operation in Union County by the federal-state Governor’s Task Force on Drug Suppression was delayed for 90 minutes while the helicopter flew Elliott to an airport in Blairsville, near his home, the newspaper reported.
The Georgia State Patrol, the lead agency in the task force, launched an internal investigation Monday into use of its helicopter after the reports surfaced.
‘‘If anything has been done wrong, we will act on it and hopefully get to bottom of it,’’ spokesman Larry Schnall said Wednesday. He declined to comment on details of the alleged incident because of the pending investigation.
According to state records, helicopter spotters directed ground teams to marijuana plants, 12 of which were seized that day.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, which took part in the operation, said there has been no federal inquiry into Elliott’s presence on the helicopter.
‘‘There is no federal investigation. There is no probe,’’ said DEA spokeswoman Ruth Porter-Whipple. ‘‘We did have an agent present that day, (but) he was on the ground.’’
The state patrol adopted detailed policies on helicopter use a year ago after criticism about flying Gov. Sonny Perdue to political events and letting him take the controls of the aircraft.
Elliott, a licensed pilot, told an Atlanta newspaper that the troopers asked him to go along on the trip and offered him a shot at flying the dual-control aircraft.
Elliott had dropped off a plane in Dawsonville that day and needed to return to Blairsville, the newspaper said.
Elliott’s spokesman said he was on vacation and unavailable for comment on Wednesday.
In 1988, Elliott was in an Air Force fighter jet that collided with another jet during simulated combat. The other plane crashed after the pilot safely ejected. The plane Elliott was in was damaged.
Elliott was flying the jet at one point during the flight but was not flying it when the collision occurred. But after the incident, the Air Force stopped offering courtesy flights to celebrities and dignitaries. <-->