09AUG06 OH-58 Arkansas ARNG

[Admin]

Military Helicopter Crash-Lands Near Alpena

ALPENA, Ark. -- An Arkansas Army National Guard OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crash-landed in Carroll County, north of Alpena, on Wednesday morning while conducting counter-drug operations with the Arkansas State Police, officials said.

Two people were onboard the aircraft, a National Guard pilot and an Arkansas state trooper.

Officials said both survived the crash with injury. Those injuries are unknown at this time.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

[Admin]

Updated: Military Helicopter Doing Drug Duty Crashes

A National Guard helicopter being used Wednesday to help state police combat illegal drugs crashed in Carroll County.

The Guard said a state trooper and a Guard pilot were aboard the 0H-58 Kiowa helicopter. It was being used to help state police conduct counter-drug operations in northwestern Arkansas.

Maj. Timothy thingyinson, the pilot, was rushed to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville where he is listed in stable condition.

Arkansas State Trooper Andy Wiley, was taken to Northwest Medical Center in Springdale where he is also listed in stable condition.

The Camp Joseph T. Robinson-based helicopter went down four miles northeast of Green Forrest, Ark., at approximately 10:30 a.m., while conducting counter drug operations with the Arkansas State Police. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.

[Admin]

Carroll County copter crash hurts GI, trooper
BY SHARON C. FITZGERALD

GREEN FOREST — An Arkansas National Guard pilot and a veteran Arkansas State Police trooper were injured Wednesday morning when their helicopter crashed in eastern Carroll County.

Arkansas National Guard Maj. Timothy Dickinson, 36, of Little Rock and Trooper Andy Wiley, 51, of Alma were taken to hospitals in Washington County, National Guard and state police officials said.

Guards officials are working to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred about four miles northeast of Green Forest.

The two men took off in an OH-58 A Kiowa helicopter from the Carroll County Airport in Berryville at 10 a. m., Arkansas National Guard Maj. Keith Moore said. The men were in one of two helicopters searching for marijuana plants around Long Creek, along with a ground unit.

Wiley called 911 from his cell phone to report the crash at 10: 25 a. m.

“There was no last radio contact from the pilot noting difficulties or problems with the aircraft,” Moore said at the crash site.

The second helicopter and the ground crew arrived at the crash site minutes later, Moore said.

Moore was in a team of National Guard personnel that flew to the crash in a Black Hawk helicopter.

Moore said there was no evidence of a fire before or after the crash. The black helicopter sat upright against a barbwire fence on a hillside. The landing gear appeared to have been sheared off in the crash.

The crash will be investigated by an Army Aviation investigation team, he said.

Dickinson was being treated Wednesday at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, but his condition was unavailable. Lt. Christopher Heathscott, a Guard spokesman, said Dickinson’s vital signs were stable Wednesday afternoon.

Wiley was listed in fair condition at Northwest Medical Center of Washington County in Springdale, a hospital official said.

Jerry Dale Popejoy, who lives a half-mile from the crash site, said he saw the helicopter flying about 150 feet above the tree line Wednesday morning.

“It was flying slow, and I thought it was flying pretty low,” he said.

He said the helicopter disappeared over a hill, and he heard a popping noise similar to gunshots. Minutes later Popejoy saw another helicopter fly overhead and heard sirens.

The land is owned by Dennis Rhoades, who said he raises chickens and cows on 130 acres. He was in Berryville on an errand when he heard there’d been a crash on his land, he said.

The OH-58 A the men were flying was assigned to the 77 th Aviation Brigade at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock and was used as part of the state’s counterdrug program, Heathscott said. The program pairs guardsmen with local and state law enforcement to search for marijuana plants and methamphetamine labs, he said.

On Wednesday, Dickinson and Wiley were working on an investigation that also involved the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Carroll County sheriff’s office.

“This [Guard ] unit provides aerial and ground support to the state’s counterdrug operation program,” Heathscott said.

Barbara McGill, who lives less than a mile from the crash scene, said she sees helicopters flying in her rural neighborhood often. Long Creek runs along her property and is a popular place for people to grow marijuana and congregate to use drugs, she said.

“I’ve had to the call the sheriff several times about them,” Mc-Gill said. “I’ve found a couple of marijuana plants growing by my barn, and I had to pull them up and burn them.”

McGill was at the Carroll County prosecuting attorney’s office Wednesday morning when the call came in about the crash.

“The sheriff and them all took off and went out there,” McGill said. “They said they were able to reach one person but one was still trapped and they couldn’t get to him.”

Wiley has worked for the state police for more than 23 years and is based at Troop H in Fort Smith, said Lt. Mike Foster, his supervisor. Wiley has worked drug eradication for 10 to 12 weeks during the summer for the past 10 years.

“There’s no telling how many hundreds of hours of flying time that he’s flown,” Foster said.

Dickinson, who has been in the Guard for 18 years, received an Army Aviation Broken Wing award in 2003 for keeping an OH-58 helicopter from crashing, according to the Army Combat Readiness Center’s Web site.

In that incident, Dickinson was returning from a reconnaissance mission near Searcy when his helicopter started having engine problems. He was able to get the helicopter to the ground safely and use his cell phone to call the local airport for assistance, military officials said.

The Arkansas National Guard has 23 helicopters, including four OH-58 s.

Wednesday wasn’t the first time Foster received word that one of his officers had been in a helicopter crash.

Foster was supervisor when Trooper Charles Michael Bassing and two sheriff’s deputies were killed July 24, 1986, when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise for marijuana eradication.

Foster wiped away a tear Wednesday when he described his reaction to hearing Wiley’s helicopter had crashed.

“It’s hard to explain it; you don’t know what to expect,” Foster said. “You expect the worst. But if they can get away, they have a pretty good chance.”

[Top Jimmy]

admin said:

Updated: Military Helicopter Doing Drug Duty Crashes

A National Guard helicopter being used Wednesday to help state police combat illegal drugs crashed in Carroll County.

The Guard said a state trooper and a Guard pilot were aboard the 0H-58 Kiowa helicopter. It was being used to help state police conduct counter-drug operations in northwestern Arkansas.

Maj. Timothy Dickinson, the pilot, was rushed to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville where he is listed in stable condition.

Arkansas State Trooper Andy Wiley, was taken to Northwest Medical Center in Springdale where he is also listed in stable condition.

The Camp Joseph T. Robinson-based helicopter went down four miles northeast of Green Forrest, Ark., at approximately 10:30 a.m., while conducting counter drug operations with the Arkansas State Police. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.