A helicopter crashed into a barge on the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, on Thursday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed. Two people were aboard the aircraft when it came down on the Missouri side and have since been confirmed dead.
Witness video provided to KMOV-TV showed a black plume of smoke rising from the barge. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
East Alton is approximately 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of St. Louis.
Witness Adam Briggs, filming from the opposite shore, captured the horrific scene as the aircraft struck a power line, erupted in flames, and plummeted onto a barge. "The helicopter was just working on these power lines, it hit the power line, blew up," he said in the video as flames flashed through the rolling smoke. "There was a pilot, there was a worker, the helicopter blew up and fell and crashed in that barge and it’s exploding right now." Briggs added in shock: "They're dead. They have to be dead."
Power company Ameren confirmed a contractor and its subcontractor were repairing tower lighting and marker balls on the lines. Ameren stated: "Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims’ families and colleagues," adding they will cooperate with the investigation.
The collision, which took place around 11am about half a mile downriver from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam, prompted an immediate response from a dozen agencies across Illinois and Missouri. Alton Deputy Fire Chief Matt Fischer said the fire department rushed by boat to the site, with a private tug boat helping douse the flames. The state patrol confirmed no one was on the barge when the MD 369 helicopter crashed, and the fire has been extinguished. The river has been closed to commercial traffic.
Federal agencies are investigating, with Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender confirming the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the inquiry. An NTSB investigator is expected on site Friday. The incident echoes a 2018 crash in Pennsylvania where a helicopter crew stringing new power lines crashed, killing two people and injuring the pilot.
