By Jesse Bedayn, Sophia Tareen and Rio Yamat
Associated Press
EAST ALTON, Ill. — Two people working on powerlines near the Mississippi River died Thursday when their helicopter hit the lines, crashed into a barge and sparked a fire that belched plumes of black smoke, officials said.
The helicopter crew was near East Alton, Illinois, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of St. Louis, when it careened into the barge on the Missouri side of the river. Authorities said no other injuries were reported.
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Adam Briggs was fishing on the shore that morning, watching the helicopter zig-zag across the river and eventually pick up a worker with a marker ball to add to a line.
After a brief glance at his phone, Briggs looked back up to see pieces of the helicopter plunging toward the barge, then he heard a bang and saw smoke.
“I was in shock and awe of what I was actually seeing, just disbelief,” Briggs told The Associated Press. The veteran and former aircraft firefighter called 911 then starting filming and frantically describing the crash.
“There was a pilot, there was a worker, the helicopter blew up and fell and crashed in that barge and it’s exploding right now,” he says in the video. Explosions continued for several minutes. “They’re dead. They have to be dead.”
A spokesperson for the power company Ameren said a contractor and subcontractor had been repairing and replacing tower lighting and marker balls on lines. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims’ families and colleagues,” Ameren said in a statement.
The names of the workers who were killed have not been released.
Aviation experts say this type of work is common for utility companies, but fatal crashes are rare.
Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation, said the pilot must be able to keep the helicopter hovering steadily in place and that investigators will consider if wind or a sudden change in the atmosphere played a role in the crash.
Briggs said he felt a breeze but that it didn’t appear very windy.
Power lines are a key hazard for any helicopter pilot because they can be difficult to see, said Thomas Anthony, director of USC’s Aviation Safety and Security Program.
Anthony recalled an attendee at an aviation conference who approached him after Anthony gave a lecture and asked if he’d had ever heard about “the dream.”
“Helicopter pilots all dream in fear” about power lines, the man explained.
In 2018, a helicopter crew stringing new powerlines crashed in Pennsylvania, killing two people and injuring the pilot.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, and an NTSB investigator is expected to arrive on site Friday.
Anthony said investigators will likely consider if the helicopter contractor had a safety management system in place to mitigate risks.
The helicopter crashed around 11 a.m. Thursday on the Mississippi River about half a mile (800 meters) downriver from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam, said Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender. First responders arrived from the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river.
The fire department rushed by boat to the crash site and a private tug boat helped to douse the flames, said Alton Deputy Fire Chief Matt Fischer. No one was on the barge when it was struck.
The river has been closed to commercial traffic.
Reflecting on the accident, Briggs told AP it was emotional to watch and that he has great respect for the workers.
“Those guys have a very dangerous job. They are doing it for other people’s safety,” he said. “It takes a brave person to do it.”
