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Putting the Pieces Together The remains of the impacted pole were taken to NFEC for further


examination. NFEC cooperated with FAA and NTSB during the investigation of the incident—NFEC’s linemen pieced the pole to- gether and were able to determine that the point of impact on the pole was nine feet above ground level. According to Copeland, the original size of the damaged pole was approximately 35 feet; six feet under ground, and a height of 29 feet above ground. The “neutral,” which is the lower of the two attached wires, was 3.5 feet below the top of the pole, allowing for 25.5 feet clearance between ground level and neutral wire—and, it was through this small frame of clearance that the airplane passed, colliding with one pole and damaging another pole as a result of the collision. The incredible part: the aircraft was still able to continue flying and land at Will Rogers Airport safely.


A Miracle in Disguise Both investigators and officials at NFEC agree the incident could easily have taken a down turn.


“Based on the specifications of the plane, we believe the pilot was almost perfectly centered between the ground and the neutral wire, meaning he had three to four feet of clearance between the tail rud- der and the neutral,” Copeland said. “We all agreed that there were seven very blessed people on the plane that night and the Good Lord obviously wasn’t finished with them yet. A matter of a few inches difference to the left or right, or up and down … and the story is tragically different.” NTSB Investigator Tom Latson has been in the aviation industry


for nearly 50 years. He said it was astounding that the plane struck the pole in such horrible weather conditions and was still able to fly. As for Eagon, he was nothing short of amazed. “I have been in the power line business for 15 years altogether


now,” Eagon said. “The thing that speaks to me the most about this incident was that nobody was hurt. Poles get hit a lot more than what most people think, but to be able to fly an airplane through the middle of a pole and keep everyone safe… it’s pretty amazing stuff.”


At the end of the day, this story does have a happy ending: no


loss of life, no injuries, and no outages–a good day if you ask any lineman.


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                                                         


This small aircraft damaged its nose during a collision with one of Northfork Electric Cooperative’s poles in early February. The collision took place during a snow storm, and pilot had low visibility. The pilot and the six passengers were not injured. Courtesy photo


                                      


MAY 2014 7


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