Overview

• The crash occurred Thursday around 11:05 a.m. when a Hughes 369D helicopter struck high-voltage transmission lines and plunged onto a barge near East Alton, Illinois.
• Firefighters and hazardous materials crews from Missouri and Illinois quickly extinguished the blaze and secured the aircraft wreckage with no injuries reported on the barge.
• The U.S. Coast Guard has closed a two-mile stretch of the Mississippi River to commercial navigation, halting barges carrying grain and other goods.
• State patrol and local authorities have maintained the Clark Bridge shutdown as a precaution while downed lines are cleared and infrastructure is inspected.
• FAA and NTSB investigators have begun on-site documentation, gathering flight logs, maintenance records and witness accounts ahead of a final safety report.