Helicopter Flies into Power Lines in Guadalupe
A crop dusting helicopter got tangled in power lines and make a hard landing in Guadalupe.
The incident also caused a power outage to about 500 homes.
The pilot told News Channel 3 he was crop dusting a field of broccoli when he accidentally flew into some power lines.
His blades and mast got tangled and he cut power to the helicopter.
The aircraft dropped about 40 feet to the ground.
The pilot only suffered bumps and scrapes but, fire officials say he’s lucky.
“He’s very lucky,” said Captain Alan Queoff of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, “this doesn’t happen very often but, when helicopters and power lines mix, it’s not usually a very good outcome. We’ve had helicopters go into power lines and crash land, and today was very fortunate; he just did a hard landing.”
PG&E started fixing the pole and lines right away and power was restored to homes by Sunday afternoon.
Slideshow: Helicopter Crashes into Power Lines