Someone in Minnesota hit a mosquito control helicopter with a golf ball

If you’ve been to Minnesota in the summer, you’ve experienced the mosquitoes.

That’s why different agencies in the state fly mosquito control helicopters, to combat the swarms of the small buzzy annoyances.

Last Friday, however, a golfer at The Refuge Golf Club in Oak Grove, Minnesota, about 35 miles north of Minneapolis, hit one of those helicopters, according to a report by Minnesota TV station WCCO.

Now, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the incident. A helicopter pilot for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District reported the situation last Friday morning. He said during flight he could see a golf ball coming at the helicopter. Upon landing, he saw the damage to the aircraft caused by the golf ball and reported it.

There are a few unknowns, however. Authorities investigating don’t know who did it, nor can they confirm if it was intentional. Those helicopters do fly low as they need to be able to direct the spray.

“Helicopters are an essential part of mosquito control operations,” said Metropolitan Mosquito Control District Executive Director Daniel Huff, adding that larval control by helicopter is “the safest and most effective way to protect the public from disease and annoyance caused by mosquitoes.”