Inadequate clearance and a lack of a secondary safety device were listed as likely reasons behind a fatal 2018 helicopter crash near Smethport.
The information was outlined in the probable cause of the National Transportation Safety Board’s analysis.
Two men died — Shane Filkins, 23, of West Virginia, and Michael Koon, 35, of South Carolina — while the pilot — Chase Olsen of Utah — suffered serious injuries.
“The helicopter pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance during power line construction work, which resulted in the helicopter’s main rotor striking and becoming entangled with a wire and a subsequent dynamic rollover and collision with terrain,” the probable cause stated.
“Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s and linemen’s decision to continue work without a secondary safety device installed, which was contrary to standard operating procedures,” the report continued.
The crash happened about 5:30 p.m. April 8, 2018, near East Valley Road in Keating Township.
The three men were contractors working on power lines for First Energy. They were involved in construction on the Pierce Brook-Lewis Run Transmission Project, a 15-mile, 230-kilovolt power line between existing substations in Bradford and Keating townships. The helicopter was owned by High Line Helicopters of Virginia and was under contract to J.W. Didado Electric of Akron, Ohio.
At the time of the crash, the three-man crew was working to remove a static line that was attached temporarily by a wheeled pulley device to the top of structures that supported power lines. Then, they were to secure the static line permanently to the structures, according to the NTSB final report.
“One lineman completed the task from the skid of the hovering helicopter, and another lineman inside the helicopter passed tools and equipment back and forth to the lineman on the skid,” the report stated.
NTSB outlined the task the crew was doing. The linemen had begun to wrap the line with a spiraled wire coating — or armor rod — before a safety strap was attached.
At one point during the task, “the pilot felt the helicopter being ‘pulled’ toward the structure. The pilot stated that he made cyclic and pedal inputs to avoid the structure but reported that ‘all I remember is rolling over the structure,’” the report read. “The pilot stated that he neither felt nor heard anything unusual before the helicopter was pulled toward the structure.”
During the subsequent investigation, an NTSB representative asked the High Line Helicopters’ director of safety why a safety strap was not installed first.
“He replied that the safety strap aboard the helicopter was ‘not long enough’ to stay attached while the armor rod was being installed and that a ‘choker safety’ should have been used,” the report stated.
At least one new safety measure was instituted due to the Keating Township crash.
According to the NTSB final report, “As a result of this accident investigation, the president of High Line Helicopters mandated the installation of safety straps to wires before work begins. The safety straps are to remain in place until work is completed at each structure.”
This was the third crash High Line Helicopters was involved in during a three-month period, according to NTSB. The first was Jan. 11, 2018, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the second was March 7, 2018, in Blair, Wisc.
The same pilot from the Keating Township crash was involved with the Blair crash, too, NTSB reported.
The probable cause of the Blair crash was determined to be, “The pilot’s failure to recognize and compensate for hazards during the human cargo external load operation, which led to a collision between a lineman, who was the external load, and a live power line,” the NTSB report stated.
For the Blair crash, the Federal Aviation Administration determined the company’s Rotorcraft External Load Flight Manual did not adequately cover human external cargo, NTSB indicated.
