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Helicopter hit power line support structure during fatal crash By RUTH BOGDAN Era Reporter r.bogdan@bradfordera.com 6 hrs ago A helicopter being used in construction of new power lines hit a wooden power line support structure when it crashed and killed two workers April 8 near Smethport, the National Transportation Safety Board reported. The agency, which is investigating the crash with the Federal Aviation Administration, released a preliminary report this week. The two men who died were Shane Filkins, 23, of West Virginia, and Michael Koon, 35, of South Carolina. The pilot, who suffered serious injuries, was Chase Olsen of Utah. NEXT UP 'Round the Square for April 25, 2018 MEMORIAL DAY:Memorial Day is just a month away, and The Era is once again puttin… Helicopter hit power line support structure during fatal crash By RUTH BOGDAN Era Reporter r.bogdan@bradfordera.com 6 hrs ago A helicopter being used in construction of new power lines hit a wooden power line support structure when it crashed and killed two workers April 8 near Smethport, the National Transportation Safety Board reported. The agency, which is investigating the crash with the Federal Aviation Administration, released a preliminary report this week. The two men who died were Shane Filkins, 23, of West Virginia, and Michael Koon, 35, of South Carolina. The pilot, who suffered serious injuries, was Chase Olsen of Utah. The helicopter was destroyed, according to the new report. The three men were involved in construction on the Pierce Brook-Lewis Run Transmission Project, a 15-mile, 230-kilovolt power line between existing substations in Bradford and Keating townships. The helicopter was owned by High Line Helicopters of Virginia and was under contract to J.W. Didado Electric of Akron, Ohio. A NTSB representative said earlier this month that it will likely be one to two years before the investigation is concluded. He said a probable cause will not be determined until the end of the investigation. The preliminary report outlines the details of what the helicopter crew was doing. According to NTSB’s preliminary report, on the afternoon of April 8, the three-man crew was moving a static line that was affixed above newly constructed power lines on a series of structures. The structures stood on “mountainous terrain” and included dual pole, H-frame wooden structures and single-pole steel structures, the report stated. The static line had been attached temporarily with a wheeled pulley device, and they were re-attaching it with a more permanent device. “One lineman completed the task from the skid of the hovering helicopter, while a second lineman passed tools and equipment back and forth from inside the helicopter,” the report explained. The two were tethered to the helicopter, Kane-based state police reported at the time of the crash. The workers were to travel along the line from structure to structure to repeat the task. Relating information from an interview with the pilot, the report stated, “The crew completed one structure, and the pilot hovered the helicopter into position to complete the work on the next structure.” While the lineman was working at one structure, “the pilot felt the helicopter was ‘pulled’ toward the structure. He made cyclic and pedal inputs to avoid the structure, but, ‘All I remember is rolling over the structure,’” the report quoted the pilot. “When asked, the pilot said he neither felt nor heard anything unusual prior to the helicopter being pulled to the structure. “The helicopter descended vertically between and adjacent to the two-pole structure. The tailboom and all six rotor blades separated from the helicopter during the descent,” it said. It was at 5:11 p.m. that the aircraft — an MD Helicopters 600 N model — was destroyed due to the impact with the support structure and the ground. At 4:53 p.m. that day, weather recorded 10 miles west of the accident site at the Bradford Regional Airport showed there was “an overcast layer at 4,100 ft, 10 statute miles visibility and wind from 290 degrees at 10 knots” — about 11.5 mph, according to the report. The temperature was about 27 degrees and the dewpoint was about 10 degrees. The altimeter setting was 29.95 inches of mercury. The report included the pilot’s qualifications, as reported by the FAA. The pilot had a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter, and his most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued April 5, 2017. He had about 6,200 hours of flight experience; of that, 250 hours was in the MD 600N, and 3,000 hours working with power lines. The 1998 helicopter had a Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C47 series, 600-horsepower turboshaft engine and last had a 100-hour inspection on Feb. 4, the report said. The NTSB reported that most of the wreckage was found at the bottom of the H-structure that was hit. However, the six rotor blades were scattered on the south side of the power lines; one traveled 300 feet west down the hill. The tailboom was about 70 feet west of the structure. “The wreckage was recovered from the accident site to a secure facility for further examination at a later date,” the report stated.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced todaythatpaving at the intersection of Routes 255 and 153 in Penfield is expected tobegin Monday, April 30. Paving will begin at the bridge over Wilson Run andcontinue to approximately 900 feet north of the intersection.The work will be completed under daylight flagging operations, enforcingalternating traffic patterns. Motorists should expect to encounter delaysandare encouraged to allow extra time to reach their destination.PennDOT expects the paving to take approximately one week. All work isweatherand schedule dependent. HRI, Inc. of State College is the contractor onthis$6.2 million job,This is the last phase of a project started last year that included roadwaymilling and paving, installation of new inlets, structure repairs, pavementmarkings and new traffic lines, and installation of ADA-compliant curbramps atthe intersection.Drivers are reminded to be alert for flaggers in and near the roadway, usecaution through work zones, obey posted speed limits, and always buckle up.To help make decisions about travel, motorists are encouraged to “KnowBeforeYou Go” by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles byvisitingwww.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day.

We would have to go to State College for a Waffle House.

April 22, 2018 "For many years, many people who lost money to scams sent their payment through a Western Union wire transfer. Scammers contacted people and promised prizes, loans, jobs, discounted products or other financial rewards in exchange for money upfront. They also pretended to be family members in need of cash or law enforcement officers demanding payment. The scammers told people to send money through Western Union. No one received the cash, prizes or services they were promised" "Because of joint investigations by the FTC, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Western Union agreed to pay $586 million dollars and admitted to aiding and abetting wire fraud. DOJ is now using that money to provide refunds to people who were tricked into using Western Union to pay scammers." The deadline to file a claim is May 31st, 2018. If you sent money to a scammer through western Union between January 1, 2004 through January 19th, 2017, you can submit a claim. For more information, CLICK HERE

Happy happy birthday!!

Mallo Cups & Dr Pepper

So glad that the only "S" words in the forecast are Sun & Showers!!

McD's late at night!!!! It just taste really good for some reason, whether you are drinking or not!

DON'T LOOK ETHEL!!!!

Well, yeah!!!! Don't turn your nose up to it till you have tried it. My hubby always told me that was disgusting, till he tried it. Now he uses the real stuff, I'll stick to my Miracle Whip!!! 👍 💜 👌

Thats what I said, but there was a school bus there, & they were busy. Next time!!

I wanted DQ, hubby wanted McD's. 4 Big Mac's won, 2 each!!

Was that on a regular plate, Styrofoam plate, or paper plate? 😁

Still have antlers or not?

Holy smokes!! Wonder if they were brand new jeeps? Wonder who's insurance pays for all of that?