One dead in helicopter crash near Wilton

UPDATE: The Federal Aviation Administration says one person is dead in the crash of a crop-spraying helicopter north of Wilton in eastern Iowa.

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro confirmed the death but says no other details were immediately available.

Television station WQAD reports the crash happened about 11:30 a.m. Monday. The TV station says Iowa Highway 38 south of Interstate 80 was closed to traffic.

Officials told the Muscatine Journal the helicopter was a 1960s-era Sikorsky helicopter refitted as a crop duster. The newspaper, which has a reporter on the scene, says the helicopter clipped some trees before crashing into a corn field, where it burst into flames. Authorities say no one on the ground was hurt.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the crop-dusting helicopter had five gallons of Headline, a corn fungicide, mixed in about 250 gallons of water on board. When the helicopter crashed, the fungicide ran into an underground tile line despite efforts to contain it.

The DNR specialists said the fungicide is toxic to fish, crayfish and other aquatic animals at very low concentrations. The DNR traced the fungicide's underground route to a small intermittent stream that flows into Otter Creek near 330th St. The fungicide had moved about one mile downstream by 5:30 p.m. It turned the stream cloudy white, killing suckers and other fish as the chemical moved downstream.

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