Helicopter clips power lines in fatal crash, causing accidents on highway, OH cops say
_fitted.png "A helicopter hit power lines and then crashed, killing the pilot and causing car crashes on a nearby highway, Ohio officials said.")
A helicopter clipped power lines and crashed into a field in Ohio, killing the pilot and causing multiple car accidents on a nearby highway, officials say.
The crash happened shortly after noon on July 29 while the pilot was crop dusting a corn field, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The damaged power lines fell onto U.S. Interstate 70, near Springfield Township, leading to multiple vehicle crashes and causing the highway to shut down for hours while authorities worked to clear the damage, WHIO reported.
Witnesses saw the helicopter moving erratically prior to the crash, the outlet reported.
“I saw him dip up over the horizon ... and then dip back down and I was like ’What’s going on?’” Arielle Griever told the TV station. “I don’t usually see … the sprayers moving, you know, that fast (and) that sharp.”
The pilot’s name was Isaac Lee Santos, a 36-year-old from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Ohio State Highway Patrol told the Springfield News-Sun. Santos worked for Helicopter Applicators Inc., a company that specializes in aerial spraying of herbicides and insecticides on farmland, the newspaper reported.
The NTSB is investigating the crash but “there is not much information available at this time,” a spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.
“An NTSB investigator is expected to continue to document the scene, examine the aircraft, request any air traffic communications, radar data, weather reports and try to contact any witnesses,” the spokesperson said. “Also, the investigator will request maintenance records of the aircraft, and medical records and flight history of the pilot.”
McClatchy has reached out to the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Helicopter Applicators Inc. for more information.
Springfield Township is roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown Dayton.
This story was originally published July 30, 2023 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Helicopter clips power lines in fatal crash, causing accidents on highway, OH cops say."