Helicopter crashes at area power plant

Pilot injured

By The Associated Press
ST. MARYS, W.Va. — A helicopter crashed at Pleasants Power plant Sunday afternoon, injuring the pilot without damaging the facility.

Allegheny Power spokesman Allen Staggers said the helicopter was being used to remove a crane from the top of a newly constructed stack.

“All the construction work is done, but there were cranes up there at the top of the stack. They disassembled the cranes and the helicopter was lifting it in sections from the top of the stack and carrying them down to the ground,” Staggers said.

The pilot lost control of the helicopter during the fifth trip at about 2:45 p.m.

“It crashed onto the coal pile adjacent to the power station,” Staggers said.

Staggers said the pilot was being treated for injuries, and his name and condition were unknown. Calls and e-mails to the pilot’s employer, St. Louis Helicopters, were not immediately returned.

Power production was not affected at the coal-powered plant, which has a capacity to produce 1,300 megawatts. The Pleasants County facility is part of Allegheny’s family of power plants, which serve parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.