Passenger, witness recount what happened during fatal helicopter crash on Ririe Reservoir
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IDAHO FALLS – The preliminary report on the fatal helicopter crash that killed a Utah CEO and injured another man on Ririe Reservoir was released Wednesday afternoon.
The report, written by the National Safety Transportation Board, provides some new details of the crash and two interviews between the surviving passenger, Steve Houghton of Dallas, Texas, and an unnamed witness on a snowmobile.
The crash occurred on Feb. 20 at 4:40 p.m. and involved a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X that was a mile east of the Ririe Dam when it went down.
According to Houghton, he and the pilot, Bradford Brown, 59, of Alpine, Utah, left the Rexburg-Madison County Airport to film a large elk herd near Ririe Reservoir.
Brown was the CEO and founder of ATL Technology in Springville, Utah, which manufactures medical devices. According to his bio on BioUtah, where he was a board member, Brown claimed he was an accomplished private pilot and had flown both helicopters and airplanes with 4,200 hours.
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In the report, Houghton said he sat in the rear seat with a harness on while Bradford was piloting at the front controls.
The report states neither Houghton nor Brown saw power lines across the frozen lake until the aircraft was in front of the lines.
“(Brown) attempted to “dive underneath” the power lines. However, the main rotor blades struck the power lines, and the helicopter subsequently impacted the frozen reservoir,” the report states.
The report states Houghton exited the helicopter unassisted and that the engine was still running after the accident, which later turned off on its own.
A witness was also interviewed about the accident. He stated he was watching two helicopters in the area of the Ririe Dam.
The witness stated he lost sight of a black helicopter and later heard a “twang sound and a bang.” After that, he took his snowmobile to where he could see the helicopter on the ice-covered reservoir.
The report states all major components of the helicopter were attached, minus the main rotor blades. It also states that five power distribution lines were found 230 feet north of the main wreckage site.
The top two power lines were equipped with orange visibility marker balls. One of the lower three lines was fractured and found on the reservoir.
The wreckage is still under investigation.
Houghton was taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for five broken ribs but no life-threatening injuries.
EastIdahoNews.com contacted the NTSB about when the final report will be released and was informed that the investigation takes 12 to 24 months to complete.
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