If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
By Todd Marver
The pilot of a helicopter, Donald L. Pruett, 41, of Mt. Vernon, was declared dead on scene on July 31 in Washington County.
According to Illinois State Police Trooper Melissa Albert, preliminary information indicates ISP Troop 8 responded to Oakdale Blacktop Road west of Black Diamond Road in Oakdale about 1:39 p.m. for a report of an aircraft crash. She said it is believed that the helicopter struck power lines, causing the helicopter to lose control, and crash into a cornfield. The pilot was declared deceased on scene. There were no other occupants. The FAA was called for further investigation.
According to a press release from the Washington County Coroner’s Office, at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 31, the coroner’s office was dispatched to the scene of a helicopter crash in a remote agricultural area north of the Oakdale Blacktop and west of Garfield Road. The pilot, Pruett was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:22 p.m. by Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger. The helicopter was a crop dusting aircraft owned by Kash Helicopter Company and Pruett was the sole occupant. The wreckage was found in a cornfield approximately one half of a mile from the roadway and under overhead power lines. It is unclear if the aircraft struck the power lines. The Federal Aviation Agency was called to the scene to investigate.
Cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma but an autopsy will be scheduled in O’Fallon. Agencies on the scene were the Washington County Ambulance Service and Sheriff’s Department, Nashville Fire Department, Illinois State Police and the Washington County Coroner’s office.
