Preliminary report released in fatal helicopter crash near Nashua

NASHUA — Federal transportation officials have released a preliminary report in a July helicopter crop duster crash near Nashua.

Pilot Eleazar Villafranca Jr., 36, died when the Bell 206-B3 helicopter he was flying apparently came into contact with utility lines that cut across the field on July 29.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board report, a co-worker who flew the same field in a similar helicopter reported the power lines were masked by a hill in front of the helicopter’s route and were “practically invisible” with the background of the cornfield.

“He also stated that while flying on the south side of the tree line at spray height, he could not see the transmission tower to his left, and the next tower to his right was out of his field of view,” the report states.

Villafranca, a 36-year-old father of three from Bayview, Texas, worked for Xtreme Aviation LLC of Falkville, Alabama.

He was spraying insecticide and fungicide on a field at a farm about three miles west of Nashua — 40 miles north of Waterloo — and took off shortly after 9 a.m., traveling in an east and west pattern over the fields.

The crash happened at about 1:25 p.m., and an alert from Villafranca’s iPhone alerted authorities. Investigators noticed severed power lines in the area, and the first piece of debris was 10 feet east of the lines.

The helicopter was equipped with wire strike cutters, blades designed to sever utility lines, and the report notes that the lower cutter showed signs of contact with wires.

The official cause of the crash will be released in a forthcoming report.

Xtreme Aviation set up a fundraiser for the family’s funeral costs and other expenses online at gofundme.com. It can be found by searching his name.