Helicopter down - One killed during aerial work - USA - Curt Lewis

Pilot killed in helicopter crash was stringing wire for American Transmission Co.

A pilot helping with the installation of transmission lines was killed when the helicopter crashed in Manitowoc County Wednesday morning. Tonight, investigators are trying to learn why the helicopter went down.

At about 10 a.m., the chopper went down in a "remote and swampy area" at 19420 Marquette Road in Maple Grove, near Reedsville, the sheriff's office said.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the MD 369E helicopter "crashed under unknown circumstances." It came to rest on its side in trees just feet from the tower the crew was working on.

The pilot was the only person on-board. So far the person hasn't been publicly identified.

Video provided by local viewer Jesse Jossart taken shortly before the crash shows the helicopter hovering above a crew installing a communication line between the Point Beach nuclear plant and Forest Junction substation. The work was part of a project by the American Transmission Company. The video does not show the crash.

Neighbors say they've been watching this pilot and his crew for the past couple weeks and admiring the pilot's skill as crews worked to install wires on transmission towers.