A helicopter crash-landed in Atkinson, Henry County, Illinois, at around 5 P.M. on August 5.
According to sources, the aircraft hit a power line, caught fire, and landed in a soy bean field.
The pilot, who was the only person aboard, was pulled out of the burning helicopter by farm owner. He was airlifted to Peoria, Illinois, in serious condition.
The NTSB and Illinois State Police were investigating the crash.
The DBS Helicopters Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III helicopter in Silt, Colorado, that got tangled in power cables doing Holy Cross Energy powerline inspections crashed, killing the pilot and crew.
The accident occurred at 11:20 a.m. where the shared Holy Cross and Xcel Energy power lines cross Dry Hollow Road about 1.6 miles south of Silt. There were witnesses who saw the accident and attempted to help.
The poles that were being inspected were fifty feet high, and the helicopter was supposed to be flying thirty feet over that.
The small fifty-foot debris field is on rough hilly terrain.
Owner and chief pilot for DBS Helicopters, Doug Sheffer died in the accident. He had 22 years and 8,000 hours of flight time. Larry Shaffer who worked for Holy Cross Energy and Christopher Gaskill who worked for HotShot Infrared Inspections were also fatalities. They were filming the trouble spots along the route, and recording the locations on GPS.
I do not want to diminish the tragedy of this accident by saying that helicopter accidents such as this are common, but I will say they happen too frequently, even when the pilot has significant experience flying in mountain terrain, and rescue.
A Haverfield Aviation Hughes 369 outside of Midland Texas was engaged in a routine power line inspection at ten a.m. when the helicopter encountered problems.
Haverfield Aviation performs Aerial Power Line Inspection And Maintenance.
The helicopter flew into powerlines.
The pilot survived. Two linemen suspended from the helicopter by cables fell two hundred feet when the cables snapped.
The helicopter made a safe landing.
OSHA and the FAA are investigating.
An Oulton Investments Pty Ltd Cessna 182A Skyline was en route to fly for a skydiving company that hired the plane for a Christmas party at the Flame Lily Adventures park. A Santa Skydiving event was planned. While en route, the plane struck four electricity transmission lines, cutting power to 1600 homes.
The plane crashed in Barrum Heads, Queensland north of Hervey Bay, and caught on fire. Three fire crews responded to put out the blaze as well as three police crews, including an inspector and the forensic crash unit. The 59 year old pilot died in the crash.
According to the ATSB:
The ATSB is investigating a fatal accident involving a Cessna 182A aircraft (registration VH-SBG) that occurred near Burrum Heads, Queensland on 17 December 2012.
Update 18 December 2012
ATSB investigators arrived on the accident site this morning.
The investigators are seeking witness reports including any video footage that might assist the investigation. Witnesses can call the ATSB on 1800 020 616.17 December 2012
It was reported that the aircraft struck a powerline before colliding with terrain. The pilot—the only person on board the aircraft—died in the accident.Four ATSB investigators (with specialisations in engineering and aircraft operations) are expected to arrive on the accident site tomorrow morning.
Over the next three days of the on-site investigation, the team will be interviewing witnesses and examining the wreckage and accident site, including the powerline.
More information will be posted on this page as it comes to hand.
What: OH-6A helicopter
Where: Atlanta
When: Nov 4, 2012
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: Pilot Richard J. Halford, 48, and tactical flight officer Shawn A. Smiley, 40 were killed when the low-flying police helicopter they were in hit a power line, fell to a city street and exploded. The officers were searching for a nine year old boy who was later found. The chopper did not hurt anyone on the ground.
Witnesses heard the helicopter and saw a flash of light when the chopper hit the pole. The chopper’s landing gear was caught in the support cables. The power company assisted authorities in getting it down.
See Video
The helicopter has been moved to a secure location as investigators work to piece together what happened.
What: Gobierno del Edo de Michoacan Bell 407
Where: lago Zirahuén Mexico
When: Sept 18, 2012
Who: 5 aboard, 1 fatality
Why: The Helicopter was filming a promotional tourism video when it crashed in Lake Zirahuen. Four aboard were injured. There was one fatality.
The aircraft became entangled with a tension wire, used as ziplining.
Despite the rumor, no members of the cast of “The Academy’ television show were aboard. The rumor appeared apparently after tweets immediately following the accident.
The injured were reported as Enrique Barragán, Carlos Vela, Pablo Gabriel Angulo and Luis Fernando Gutiérrez. Daniel Martinez was initially reported as missing, then later as a fatality.
THe helicopter is owned by the State of Michoacan.
What: Schroeder Fire Balloons G34/24
Where: Villiers-Saint-Denis, Aisne France
When: May 13th, 2012, 7:00
Who: 4 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the craft struck power lines and crashed.
The basket caught fire immediately after touching the power line, instantly killing the pilot of the balloon and a sixty year old passenger.
Two brothers aged 20 and 24, were flown by helicopter to Percy hospital in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine). One of them is badly burned. One brother who clung to the fabric of the balloon was injured by the fall over Charly-sur-Marne.
Thirty firemen and thirty policemen were on the scene.
What: Cessna C-210
Where: Airport Road near Pastoral Center St. Charles Borromeo, Romeoville, near Lewis University Airport
When: June 26, 2011, 2:49 p.m.
Who: Pilot Victor Pantaleo and passenger
Why: After experiencing engine problems on taking off from the Brookeridge Airpark in Downers Grove, the pilot was attempting to return to the airport, when the plane struck trees before impacting the ground front of St. Charles Barromeo Pastoral Center in Romeoville. The plane took down powerlines when it crashed.
The passenger was half ejected from the plane, and rescuers had to disengage him but he survived. Pantaleo was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and was pronounced dead.
Firefighters from the Lockport Township Fire Department responded to the crash.
The NTSB is investigating.
The mass for Panatelo was held at at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church.
What: Colombian Police Bell UH-1 Huey en route from La Salina to Yopal
Where: La Salina, Casanare Province Colombia
When: June 11, 2011
Who: 11 aboard, 8 fatalities
Why: In Bogata, a police Huey crashed on take-off when it became entangled with electrical cables (high voltage wires). Mechanical failure may have been involved. Seven died on the scene, and one en route.
The deceased included four helicopter crewmen (Pilot Captain Manuel Niño Nestor Acosta, co-pilot Lt. Fuentes Fabián Meneses and technical sub Leandro Mayor Sanchez) and four members of the police anti-narcotics service (Gutierrez Mendoza Eimer, John Contreras Lobo, John Jewel Delgado, Wilson Germain Medina Correa Delgado and Castillo). Four surviving narcotics officers (Miguel Ochoa Assistant Parrado, Domingo Gamarra Roso, Orlando Castillo and Jose Jaimes Torres Vesga) have been hospitalized.
The helicopter was completely destroyed.
The chopper’s registration number was PLC-0731
What: Japanese Coast Guard Bell 412EP “Akizuru”
Where: off Kagawa, Shikoku Japan
When: August 8 2010
Who: 5 occupants 4 fatalities
Why: Akizuru hit offshore power lines and crashed into the sea. The five member crew was missing; but the remains of 4 were found by searchers. One is still missing.
What: Air Unique Inc Cessna 310R registration en route from Palo Alto to Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Southern California
Where: Palo Alto
When: Feb 17 2010
Who: 3 dead (passengers) employees of Tesla Motors
Why: After takeoff, over a residential neighborhood, the Cessna either struck a 100-foot electrical tower or clipped its power transmission line, causing the plane to burst into flames, fragment and crash.
A wing fell on a residential day care, and debris scattered on houses and cars in the neighborhood, and the crash caused a power outage in Palo Alto.
What: Robinson R44 Raven II Helicopter
Where: Baie-Comeau, 700 kilometres northeast of Montreal on a sandbar in the middle of the Franquelin River
When: Thursday November 12, 2 pm
Who: 58-year-old man and two women in their thirties
Why: Investigators are looking into into whether or not the helicopter struck a power line. A “hydro line” not far from the crash was severed and the crash caused a power outage in Godbout-Franquelin.
The pilot died and the two seriously hurt passengers were taken to Quebec City hospital.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jason Brickman
What: Piasecki PV-18 en route from Adelanto to Flabob
Where: Highway 395, one mile south of Adelanto Airport, CA
When: Nov 7, 2009, 8:30 a.m.
Who: 3 fatalities
Why: After takeoff, the helicopter struck power lines and caught afire.
The helicopter (owned by Joseph William Pike of Victorville CA) was a vintage military aircraft built in 1951. The crash destroyed the helicopter, and there were no survivors.
What: Six-passenger Piper en route from Jones Riverside Airport to Dallas
Where: Chandler Park in West Tulsa
When: 10:40 a.m., Saturday Sept 5 minutes after takeoff
Who: Two men, a woman and two girls Tulsa doctor Stephen Lester, his wife Dana, two teenage daughters, Laura, 16 and Christina, 13. and Dr. Kenneth Veteto
Why: Just after takeoff in rainy, foggy conditions, the plane hit a cable attached to a telecommunications tower, crashed, broke up and caught on fire. When the plane hit, the wings came off. The plane flipped several times. The family and a friend had been going to the University of Oklahoma football game. Dr Veteto leaves a wife and two children.
Two more of the family’s children were not on the plane.
What: dell’eliambulanza medical emergency service helicopter
Where: Mount Cristallo/ Mount Faloria near Cortina d’Ampezzo Ski Resort
When: Saturday, 22nd August 2009
Who: 4 people on board: two engineers (co-pilot Marco Zago and Stefano da Forno), a doctor (Spaziani Fabrizio) and the pilot (Dario De Felipe)
Why: The helicopter appeared to have hit a high voltage cable while flying in bad weather. The helicopter was in the process of responding to landslide near Rio Gere, towards Passo Tre Croci. Continued bad weather hampered recovery efforts.
This would have been Zago’s last mission before transferring to another job.
The remains have been recovered, however, and were taken to the hospitap mortuary in Cortina Codivilla. This hazardous area frequently requires mountain rescue services.
What: R44 Astro Helicopter en route to Nelson in rural Butte County
Where: Near Yuba River, Marysville, California
When: 07/13/2009 at 1700 hrs
Who: 3 crew members aboard
Why: N244HP, A ROBINSON R44 ROTORCRAFT, STRUCK A POWERLINE AND FORCE LANDED on its side 10 MILES FROM MARYSVILLE, CA on the bank of the South Yuba River.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Alex McMahon
Update
Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking $50,000 in damages, Pawel Jakub Batura filed a four-count suit claiming wrongful death and negligence on behalf of the estate of Stanley and Monika Niemiec casualties of the Jan. 29 crash. Defendants are Chicago-based American Polish Aero Club and Wesvin Inc., the FAA-registered owner of the aircraft. The suit claims Aero Club negligence on the following points:
The wings are broken; the propellor separated and propeller blade is missing.
What: “experimental high wing” or home-built single-engine plane registered to William McDuffie of Louisiana
Where: East Texas near a landfill between Longview and Kilgore.
When: Discovered Monday afternoon
Who: Ronald Vickers of Arlington died in the crash. Death was pronounced on the scene.
Why: Prior to crashing, the plane made contact with the power lines. The right wing susustained damage. Ronald Vickers was about halfway through the 350 mile trip from Oak Ridge, La to taking his newly purchased plane home to Texas. It is not known why he was flying low.
Offshore Flight School gives flight lessons to Japanese tourists.
What: Piper Saratoga PA-32 registered to Women’s Medicine Incorporated of Jacksonville Beach, Florida (but the plane was recently sold) ) from Craig Airport in Jacksonville, after stopping at DeKalb Peachtree Airport en route to Coldwater, Mich.
Where: went down in a neighborhood near Interstate 285 just north of Atlanta.
When: 2 p.m. Tuesday. Sept 23
Who: The pilot is dead. No one else was injured.
Why: The plane appeared to clip power lines and trees as it went down.
What: Skyline Aviation Robinson 44 Helicopter
Where: 20 kilometres northwest of Napier
When: Monday Sept 15
Who: relief pilot for the service for five years
Why:Pilot who flew into some overhead wires and crashed while while spraying blackberry farm, was trapped beneath the wrecked helicopter with a punctured lung, a broken arm and fuel burns. His condition is critical, and he is in intensive care in Hawke’s Bay Hospital
