Helicopter crashes near Kaiser smelter in Spokane, pilot killed

The Associated Press

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The pilot was the only person aboard the BPA Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. He was pronounced dead at the scene, sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.

The pilot's identity was not immediately released.

Federal Aviation Administration investigators were on the scene, Reagan said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, Reagan said.

The helicopter went down about 9:46 a.m. near a BPA substation and the Kaiser Mead Works smelter northeast of Spokane, he said.

BPA spokesman Ed Mosey said the aircraft was installing lines for a $175 million transmission upgrade. The lines were not energized, he said.

BPA is replacing transmission lines that carry 115 kilovolts of power with 500 kilovolt lines on an 84-mile stretch from north Spokane to Grand Coulee Dam.

Deputies roped off a large debris field south of the BPA substation to preserve evidence for federal investigators, Reagan said.

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