Story Published:
Jun 4, 2009 at 1:17 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jun 5, 2009 at 9:19 PM CST
MULL, Ark. -- A helicopter with a crew searching for illegal drugs crashed into the Buffalo River early Thursday afternoon near Buffalo Point Campground. Three people were in the Arkansas National Guard helicopter and all survived.
Buffalo National River rangers as well as state and local emergency responders started scrambling after the crash at 1:22. The National Park Service says the helicopter “experienced mechanical failure, losing power and autorotated into the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point in Marion County.”
A spokesman for Arkansas State Police said its Special Agent Kevin Brown was one of the law enforcement officers on the helicopter. An ambulance took Brown to the hospital in Yellville, where he's reported in good condition. Brown, 30, has been a trooper since August 2005.
Maj. Keith Moore of the Arkansas National Guard in Little Rock said the helicopter is an OH-58 Kiowa Scout (like the one shown above) based at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock. He said it’s part of the National Guard’s Air Interdiction Detachment. He said the other two on board are the Arkansas Guard pilot and a member of the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force.
The National Park Service says all three crewmembers were able to reach shore on their own. It said two are hospitalized, one with serious injuries. Moore didn’t provide the names of the pilot and the other investigator.
Moore said the helicopter left Camp Robinson shortly after noon and stopped in Clinton to pick up the two law enforcement agents. The aircraft left Clinton around 12:45. The pilot called Camp Robinson Operations at 1:30 to report the crash.
The National Guard sent a team to the crash site to secure the scene and begin its investigation.
The crash site is south of Yellville, west of Calico Rock, near the Marion-Searcy county line. Buffalo Point was known as Buffalo River State Park until it was absorbed into the Buffalo National River in the early 1970s. National Park Service, Arkansas State Police, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Ralph Caney Fire Department had responders on the scene within minutes of the crash.
The NPS said there is little potential for a fuel spill since the chopper was equipped with a self-sealing fuel system. The river from the Arkansas 14 bridge to Buffalo Point was closed to river traffic. The NPS also closed the gravel bar and parking lot at Buffalo Point.
