Denver, Colorado — The final factual report has been released on a helicopter crash that happened last fall near Larchwood.
The National Transportation Safety Board or “NTSB” has released the report, which states that the crash, on Monday, November 6th, near the West Lyon School happened about ten minutes into the flight, which took off at about 1 p.m.
Those in the helicopter, which was owned by Ride The Sky Helicopters, were looking for 300 lost cattle. Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep says that the pilot was Robert Krier of Sioux Falls, and the passenger was Steve Ahrendt of rural Inwood, who was the owner of the cattle. The victims were taken to Sioux Falls hospitals with serious, but non-life threatening injuries. Witnesses said that the helicopter was hovering and as it started to turn, the tail of the helicopter struck the power lines.
The NTSB report says the helicopter was assisting the ground team to push the cattle towards an open gate directly beneath the power lines. They also say that several witnesses and the passenger stated that the helicopter looked and sounded normal prior to the impact.
The report says that a video of the accident taken by another witness on the ground showed the helicopter maneuvering near the power lines, with the nose of the helicopter facing away from the power lines. It says the tail of the helicopter impacted the power lines, followed by the main rotor blades. It also says the helicopter rotated once before impacting the ground.
It was known before that the helicopter descended to the ground and came to rest on its right side in a cornfield. The tail boom separated from the fuselage and both main rotors were substantially damaged.
The new report says that an official weather observation at the Sioux Falls Airport, which is 18 miles northwest of the accident site, reported the winds at roughly northeast (60°) at about 8 miles per hour (7 knots). It said visibility was about a mile and a half due to light snow, and the skies were overcast at 2,300 ft. The temperature was 30 degrees (-1° C), and the dewpoint temperature was 25 (-4°C). The barometric pressure was 30.26 inches of mercury.
However, the report says the witnesses on the ground at the accident site characterized the weather as overcast, windy, unlimited visibility, and no precipitation.
The new report says that an examination of the helicopter, engine, and remaining systems revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. It also says that as of the date of the report, the pilot had no recollection of the accident or the events that led up to the accident.
The NTSB investigator in charge says that probable cause and analysis are pending and will be released at a later date.
