Power-line crew injured in helicopter crash

[CPOPE]

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews...06-083433.html
July 6th, 2013

Power-line crew injured in helicopter crash
Two people were sent to hospital when the Hughes 500 helicopter, working on a transmission tower for the Heartland Transmission Project, crashed

A seriously injured 29-year-old worker was airlifted to University hospital Friday after he fell off of a helicopter skid as the aircraft crashed near Gibbons.

Mounties say the man was one of two people seriously injured while working on the installation of power lines when their helicopter came into contact with a tower shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP, Fire Department and Ambulance responded to the crash, located beside a tower on Township Road 544 west of Range Road 225 in the County of Sturgeon.

The pilot of the helicopter was not able to maintain control and the helicopter crashed into a field, said Fort Saskatchewan RCMP.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the cause of the crash along with Occupational Health and Safety.

The injured pilot was transported to the University hospital by ground ambulance and the lineman, who suffered more serious injuries, was flown by STARS Air Ambulance.

“He fell from the skid and he suffered from multiple serious injuries,” said Colin Fast, a spokesman with STARS Air Ambulance.

Crews could be seen probing the wrecked chopper that appeared to be laying on it’s right side near the tower. The aircraft’s mangled propeller was twisted towards the ground and it’s detached tail sitting in the grass approximately 50 feet away.

The men were members of a power-line crew forking on EPCOR and AltaLink’s double-circuit 500kV Heartland Transmission Project power line which will run from south Edmonton to the Alberta Industrial Heartland in Fort Saskatchewan.

“Our first concern is the health of the worker and the pilot injured in this incident,” said Johanne Picard-Thompson, senior vice president of projects for AltaLink.

“We will begin an investigation immediately to learn what may have caused the helicopter to fail,” she said.

The power line was deemed to be critical infrastructure by the province. That’s after the government passed the contentious Bill 50, now known as the Electrical Statutes Amendment Act.

The act made the government responsible for determining the need for critical transmission projects

[Ghostrider]

Any up dates on the lineman? I hope he is doing well. Was this a H & M project? Does anyone know what happened. It sounds like there are a lot of lessons that could be learned. They always blame the pilot but most of the time there are a lot of other things that failed before the accident, The company I am working for is just starting to use Helicopters and while they seem risky the written procedures they use seem to help. Does anyone know if there are any good books or web site that might help.

Anyway my thought are with the two men that were hurt and their families.