Helicopter Crashes Onto Barge on the Mississippi, Killing Two
On Thursday morning, a helicopter crashed onto a tank barge on the Mississippi River near St. Louis, killing two people.
At about 1100 hours, a Hughes 369D utility helicopter hit electrical transmission lines over the Mississippi and crashed onto the deck of the barge, then caught fire.
At the time of the casualty, a contractor was repairing the warning lighting and the marking balls on the transmission wires, the power utility told local media. The balls make the wires more visible to aircraft and bird life, and they provide flotation if a wire falls into the water. The helicopter was working near the wires to help workers install the marker balls when the casualty occurred, according to the local Fox News affiliate.
“He had one of those balls on the side the helicopter with another worker there, strapped in. So, it was clear they were going to the high-tension line to place that safety ball, whatever it is, in place,” a recreational fisherman, Adam Briggs, told Fox 2. Briggs also captured video footage of the scene, available here.
Wallace Maier, a fishing guide on the Mississippi, told the New York Times that the helicopter broke up and ignited when it made contact with the powerline, and it came down in a "ball of fire."
The two occupants of the helicopter were killed in the crash. The barge had no one aboard at the time of the incident; the fire on deck was put out quickly, and the extent of any damage to the vessel was not immediately known.
"As soon as it touched it, there was just an explosion. It was just gone," Maier told NBC affiliate KSDK St. Louis.
After contact with the helicopter, multiple power lines dropped into the water. For safety, the river was temporarily closed to navigation, along with the nearby Clark Bridge.
“We are saddened about today’s tragic incident,” utility Ameren said in a statement. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims’ families and colleagues. We will cooperate with the investigation.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has opened an inquiry into the crash.
The Hughes 369 / Hughes 500 is a Vietnam War-era utility helicopter design, and began life as a scout helicopter for the U.S. Army. This particular unit was delivered to its first owner in 1976, according to Aviation Safety Network. Records suggest that the same unit was involved in a serious crash in Washington State in 2003, but was restored and returned to service.