linesmen estimated they would do around less than a day before, I felt very aware of the
two hundred spacers a day. Today they were danger the team experienced every day.
working in temperatures of over 100 degrees The helicopter had burst into flames on
with 95% humidity, only breaking to refuel the impact and all that was left was a few small
helicopter. fragments and a scorched mark on the ground.
After an amazing 12 hours filming we all The crew didn’t stand a chance. I realised how
travelled back to the hotel and were looking very focused the team I was working with must
forward to a well earned beer, until the team be to avoid this happening to them. It was time
told me that Jonesboro was a dry county (no to find our landing site to meet up with them.
alcohol on sale). Thankfully the helicopter Our crew had been split into teams and
engineer then revealed a cool box of cold were positioned 200ft up on two pylons that
beers…a happy crew! spanned the valley. From the first pylon some of
On the third day of filming tragedy struck. the team had to attach a rope to the helicopter
The crew chief stopped operations. He’d had a as it hovered above them. The helicopter then
call from the power company and it was very pulled the rope 2000 metres across the gorge,
bad news. He called the team together to give where the other crew would attach it to a winch.
them the information. The new power cable was then attached to the
Further up the state another crew had had rope and winched across as it would be far too
an accident.. A helicopter had hit the power heavy for the helicopter to pull 2000 metres of
line, bringing the line and the helicopter down, wire. It was a success, the line was reconnected
killing two of their colleagues. This is a very and soon the power was back on.
specialist job and only a small number of people We then turned around and headed back
have the courage to do it. The people who had to the spacer job 200 miles to the south. It
died were known to some of the team. had been a tough day, but the team were just
The crew were told to immediately call pleased it had gone well. All in a day’s work for
their loved ones. They didn’t want any of their these amazing men.
families hearing the news that a linesmen and
pilot were killed in Arkansas not knowing if it
was their husband, father or son.
As our crew were the nearest to the
accident, the power company were pulling
them off their job to send them to repair the
line which had just been damaged. The power
needed to be restored as around 8000 homes
and businesses had been affected by the loss
of the line. So the crew, its vehicles and the
helicopter set off on the 200 mile journey, not
knowing what to expect.
I was to fly to the scene in the helicopter to
get some aerial footage of the damaged line.
This meant flying over the crash site and the
pilot and I were not looking forward to what we
were about to see.
The crash had occurred in a valley near
a power station with many lines criss-crossing
the gorge. We approached very carefully, the
lines surrounded us and Jonno, my pilot, was
all eyes. When we spotted what had happened
Kevin@rldirectory.co.uk 023 8027 6396 The Rownhams Lane Directory

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