Helicopter engine is examined by officials

Investigators Thursday removed and examined the engine of a helicopter that crashed Tuesday morning in Greenville, but released no new details about what may have sent it plummeting to the ground.

Pilot Brian Keith Lacks, 41, of Arlington, Tenn., remained in good condition at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.

Lacks was flying a helicopter equipped to trim trees near electrical lines when he crashed en route to refuel in an open cornfield near two homes on Cold Springs Road shortly after 11 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration took the helicopter to Tabor City, N.C., where Aerial Solutions, Inc., houses its tree-trimming helicopters, and performed a visual engine inspection, said Tim Monville, senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The engine goes next to the manufacturer’s facility. A preliminary NTSB report could be ready next week, Monville said.

The helicopter, less than 300 feet in the air, had been carrying a unique 10-blade dangling saw to trim trees on behalf of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. Aerial Solutions has not resumed work for SVEC but remains in the area trimming near lines for Dominion Virginia Power, an SVEC spokesperson said Thursday.

The crash was the fifth since 2001 involving two-seat Hughes 369D Rotorcraft helicopters owned by Aerial Solutions, according to NTSB reports. None were fatal.

Ted McAllister, general manager with Aerial Solutions, said the company has worked in 20 states since 1985.

Lacks received his pilot certification in 2007, according to FAA records.