Hyde Park man survives fatal crash of helicopter
BEEKMANTOWN, N.Y. >> A Hyde Park man was one of two people who survived a helicopter crash in the Adirondacks that claimed two lives, authorities said Wednesday.
The helicopter, a 1981 Aerospatiale AS355F2 owned by Catalyst Aviation of Hammontown, N.J., was being used for work on power lines when it became entangled in lines and caught fire about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday in Beekmantown, between Plattsburgh and the Canadian border.
Cellphone video taken by witnesses showed the burning wreckage tangled in the wires before it fell about 40 feet to the ground. Part of a pulley system being used by the helicopter crew to install a fiber optic lines remained attached to a power line.
Witnesses told local media that all four men in the helicopter jumped out after the aircraft hit the lines near a utility pole. Emergency officials said first responders pulled the men away from the burning wreckage stuck above them.
Authorities said Wednesday that pilot Robert T. Hoban Jr., 56, of Shamong, N.J., and passenger Jeremy Kearns, 30, of Massena, N.Y., died from their injuries.
Co-pilot Scott Fabia, 34, of Hyde Park, and Benjamin McAllister, 30, of Hopkinton, N.Y., survived. They remained in a Plattsburgh hospital for observation on Wednesday.
The New York Power Authority said the men on board worked for Northline Utilities, an upstate contractor that inspects and maintains power lines. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at Northline’s headquarters in Au Sable, N.Y., said the company was cooperating with investigators and would not answer media questions.
Messages left with Catalyst Aviation were not immediately returned Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash, along with state and local authorities.