More detail on this person: AP , Associated
Press Oct. 13, 1997 8:57 AM ET
SAGO, W.Va. (AP) _ A coal company executive
and a state education official were among four
people killed when a helicopter crashed in a
remote area of Upshur County.
John Faltis, 55, president of Anker Energy Corp.
in Morgantown, and his wife, Kathleen, 48, were
killed in Sunday's crash, police said. Mrs. Faltis
was a member of the state Board of Education.
Also killed were pilot Barth Bartholomae, 54, of
Coraopolis, Pa., and photographer Greg Adams, 47,
of Morgantown, said state police Sgt. Fred Knight.
Police could not say what caused the Bell 206 Jet
Ranger to crash into a woody hillside near the
Buckhannon River around 11 a.m.
It took rescue workers about 30 minutes on foot to
get to the crash site because trucks could not get
through the woods, said Buckhannon firefighter Joe
Bennett. The crashed chopper did not burn.
``It was a pretty rough extrication. The area is
pretty much straight up and straight down,''
Knight said. All four victims were dead when
rescuers arrived.
The helicopter was owned by Burgettstown,
Pa.-based Royale Helicopter Service. It was being
used to take pictures of a coal preparation plant,
police said.
According to a statement from Anker Coal Group
Executive Vice President Bruce Sparks, the pilot
Bartholomae also was president of the helicopter
company. Phone messages to the company were
not immediately returned Sunday night. Sparks
said the helicopter apparently lost power before
it went down. Officials with the National
Transportation Safety Board and the Federal
Aviation Administration could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Both agencies will investigate the accident,
police said.
There was no indication the pilot sent a distress
signal or a call for help before the crash, police
said.
A fifth person who had been let off the helicopter
minutes before it crashed witnessed the accident
and called police. Police would not release that
person's name but Sparks said he is a president of
an Anker subsidiary.
``He said they seemed to be slowing down to take
pictures when he noticed they kept losing
altitude,'' Sparks said.
John Faltis led an effort to fight river pollution
from his own industry.
In 1995, Faltis pledged $200,000 a year to combat
acid runoff from abandoned coal mines that killed
plants and fish in the Cheat River.
Anker Energy later bought an inactive,
acid-plagued Upshur County strip mine as a
demonstration site for new technology designed for
the cleanup plan. It was unclear if that was where
the helicopter crashed.
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining awarded Faltis
its Trailblazer award in 1995 for his company's
attention to the environment.
Faltis also had been a player in West Virginia
politics, as Anker Energy donated $25,000 and
Faltis gave $10,000 to Gov. Cecil Underwood's 1997
inauguration ceremonies.
``Clearly it's a tragedy that it takes four
people, including the Faltises, both of whom have
made significant personal and professional
contributions to West Virginia in both the private
sector and the public sector,'' said Underwood
spokesman Rod Blackstone.
State schools Superintendent Hank Marockie said
Kathleen Faltis was ``totally committed to
advancing education in West Virginia.''
``She brought a tremendous energy to the board.
She brought the sense of an astute
businesswoman, as well as outstanding
background in education,'' Marockie said.
In April 1996, a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter crash
in Charleston killed the head of the state police
aviation division and his predecessor. The
National Transportation Safety Board ruled out
pilot error in that crash. A section of the tail
boom separated in midair.
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