Chopper down

GREENVILLE — A helicopter trimming trees near electrical lines crashed in an open cornfield shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday behind two homes on Cold Springs Road.

The pilot, Brian Keith Lacks, 41, of Arlington, Tenn., was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville with non life-threatening injuries, Virginia State Police said. No one else was injured.

“It seems the pilot was going for fuel and he lost all power,” 1st Sgt. Scott VanLear said.

The helicopter, less than 300 feet in the air, had been carrying a unique dangling saw to trim trees for Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. Initial evidence indicates that while en route to refuel, an engine failure caused the crash, state police said.

The crash is the fifth since 2001 involving two-seat Hughes 369D Rotorcraft helicopters owned by Aerial Solutions Inc. of Tabor City, N.C., according to National Transportation Safety Board reports.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, which sent a Richmond inspector to the scene Tuesday, the NTSB will pick up the crash investigation because of the “substantial damage” to the helicopter.

With the propeller and tail mangled, the maroon helicopter with gold and silver stripes landed upright, but rested on its side in a field about 300 feet from a one-story white house at 2668 Cold Springs Road.

Ted McAllister, general manager with Aerial Solutions, said the company, which does work in at least 20 states, has operated since 1985 and provides a tree-trimming service available to utility companies. He said the company has never experienced a fatal crash.

NTSB reports describe minor and serious injuries to pilots during incidents in 2001 in Illinois; 2004 in Louisiana; 2007 in North Carolina; and 2008 in Pennsylvania. Engine failure on the 369D Rotorcraft was reported in four of five incidents.

The Co-op has employed Aerial Solutions for about five years in Augusta, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, a spokesperson said. Dominion Power Virginia has used the service for about three years on a limited basis. Alleghany Power, which employed Aerial Solutions during the 2008 crash in Carroll Township, Pa., south of Pittsburgh, will continue to use the service, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

The 2004 crash led to a lawsuit against the engine manufacturer, citing injuries that left the helicopter pilot a paraplegic.

McAllister called Lacks a “very well experienced pilot.” Lacks received his pilot certification in 2007, according to FAA records.

“Our prayers go with the pilot,” McAllister said.

The device being used on the helicopter, McAllister said, is called an Air Saw. It hangs 90 feet below the craft, which flies about 200 to 300 feet above ground, moving methodically along tree lines near cables. The company works in limited access areas, he said.

The tree-trimming operation involved the pilot and a man on the ground with a truck. A mechanic was also nearby and responded quickly, McAllister said. He added that the helicopter and crew had been in Virginia for several weeks doing tree trimming projects, including one near Waynesboro.