Accident Overview
A helicopter operating along a customary route to its home base collided with a cellular phone antenna tower. The structure had been completed on the same day as the incident. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the helicopter's rotor system struck the tower approximately 15 feet below its top.
Tower Construction and Beacon Status
The antenna tower, which stood 240 feet tall, had its final 100-foot section erected near sunset. According to the field supervisor, there was insufficient time to complete the electrical connection for the installed beacon. As a result, the tower was not illuminated. The supervisor also failed to inform Flight Service of the tower's height and the fact that the beacon was not operating.
Flight Operations
A pilot familiar with operations at the county's flight base noted that the majority of flights in the area were conducted at altitudes between 100 and 500 feet above ground level (AGL).