Pilot hurt as he sprayed insecticide; official denies power line collision

A helicopter that crashed just meters from homes in Tongzhou district on Monday was downed by a mechanical failure, according to a senior official involved in the accident investigation.

The aircraft plummeted to the ground at about 9:28 am and hit a wall adjoining a residential property in Luxinzhuang village.

The pilot, who is in his 30s, was pulled from the wreckage by a fire rescue team and is now receiving hospital treatment for a fractured left leg. No other injuries were reported.

"All we know for now is that the accident was caused by mechanical failure, rather than the weather," said Xue Yang, deputy director of air protection for Beijing's landscape and forestry bureau. He confirmed that a company hired by his office to spread insecticide in nearby woods owns the helicopter.

"We just heard a loud crash and felt the ground shake, but there was no explosion," said a villager quoted by the Mirror Evening News.

Other media reported that witnesses saw the aircraft hit a high-voltage power line, producing a shower of sparks. However, Xue denied the reports, insisting the chopper had "touched nothing".

The accident is now under investigation by the city's work safety supervision bureau.

The company's insurers have also been called in to estimate the cost of the damage.

"The engine of the helicopter still works," Xue told METRO. "The helicopter will be out of action for a while but it won't be scrapped."

Xue's office is responsible for protecting the capital's trees and farmland from the air. About 40 times a month, between mid-April to early October, two pilots will fly small helicopters 5 meters above treetops at about 80 km/h outside the Fifth Ring Road to spray diflubenzuron, a strong pesticide.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/17/2011)