Post by Admin on Sept 23, 2009 17:20:01 GMT -6
UPDATE: Military helicopter makes ‘hard landing’ in Wythe County field
Military investigators are looking in to what caused an Army National Guard helicopter on an aerial drug sweep to make a “hard landing” in a Wythe County farm field on Wednesday afternoon. No one in the craft or on the ground was injured. According to a Virginia National Guard public affairs officer, the OH 58 helicopter landed in an alfalfa field between Wytheville and Rural Retreat at 1:30 p.m. after the engine apparently malfunctioned.
The pilot, who was not seriously injured and was alone, was able to bring the craft down safely, but the helicopter was heavily damaged in the landing just off of St. Paul Church Road, Capt. Matthew Nowak said.
Shortly after the crash, the pilot could be seen walking around the landing site talking with Virginia State Police troopers. A swarm of police and emergency personnel converged on the field, which is part of Jimmy Huffard’s dairy farm.
The helicopter’s tail was bent, the cockpit windshield was cracked and the main rotor was lying nearby on the ground. Nowak said the pilot, who was taken to the hospital and checked out as a precaution, was assisting state police with their annual aerial search for marijuana plants when he made the unplanned landing. The captain wasn’t sure where the pilot had lifted off from to begin the search.
Military investigators are looking in to what caused an Army National Guard helicopter on an aerial drug sweep to make a “hard landing” in a Wythe County farm field on Wednesday afternoon. No one in the craft or on the ground was injured. According to a Virginia National Guard public affairs officer, the OH 58 helicopter landed in an alfalfa field between Wytheville and Rural Retreat at 1:30 p.m. after the engine apparently malfunctioned.
The pilot, who was not seriously injured and was alone, was able to bring the craft down safely, but the helicopter was heavily damaged in the landing just off of St. Paul Church Road, Capt. Matthew Nowak said.
Shortly after the crash, the pilot could be seen walking around the landing site talking with Virginia State Police troopers. A swarm of police and emergency personnel converged on the field, which is part of Jimmy Huffard’s dairy farm.
The helicopter’s tail was bent, the cockpit windshield was cracked and the main rotor was lying nearby on the ground. Nowak said the pilot, who was taken to the hospital and checked out as a precaution, was assisting state police with their annual aerial search for marijuana plants when he made the unplanned landing. The captain wasn’t sure where the pilot had lifted off from to begin the search.
