Helicopter crash in Baxter County, Ark., kills 2

SALESVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A helicopter carrying a power-line inspector for a Missouri utility crashed Tuesday near the Norfork Dam in northern Arkansas, killing both the pilot and passenger, officials said.

The helicopter, owned by Ozark Mountain Helicopters LLC, crashed just before 9:30 a.m., FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said. Baxter County sheriff's deputies said the helicopter came down on the south side of the North Fork River, downstream from the dam in the Overlook Estates area.

Baxter County Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Lewis identified the dead as pilot James Dean Evertsen, 57, of West Plains, Mo.; and passenger Randall J. Arthur, 51, of Marshfield, Mo., an employee of Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative. Lewis said both of the men's bodies likely will be sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for autopsies.

Evertsen was owner of Ozark Mountain Helicopters, a tour company based in Branson, Mo.

Son Casey Evertsen, a manager at the company, said Sho-Me Power hired the helicopter to inspect power lines.

"It was just the pilot and one person looking at power lines," Evertsen said.

A woman who answered the phone at Sho-Me Power in Marshfield said no one there could discuss the crash.

P.J. Spaul, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the helicopter clipped transmission lines running from the dam either before or as it crashed. Spaul said the crash cut the lines and sparked two power surges in generators at the Bull Shoals and Norfork power plants, which shut them down immediately.

Spaul said the fire-suppression system at the Norfolk Dam went off after the power surge. Spaul said the Corps will leave both generators off at the dam until workers recharge the suppression system with carbon dioxide.

"Until we get those recharged and bring that unit offline back online, we won't know if there was any damage," Spaul said.

Spaul said the Corps' Bull Shoals generators sustained no damage from the power surge and returned to operation later Tuesday.

Lewis described the area as rugged, saying officers had to respond to the crash on off-road vehicles or by foot. Black smoke from the crash could be seen from a distance. When deputies arrived, they found the helicopter still ablaze and those inside dead.

Herwig said the National Transportation Safety Board was expected to investigate the crash.

Salesville is about 10 miles southwest of Mountain Home.