Salvage Crew Removes Crashed Helicopter From Keystone Lake

The helicopter that crashed into Keystone Lake over the weekend has now been pulled from the water, and the investigation into the crash is underway.

As you can imagine, it was a challenging task getting that helicopter to the surface.

Jay Selzer is a partner in a company called Docks and Services. They manufacture docks and do specialty recovery jobs on the water, which usually means boats.

"First time we've actually been involved with a helicopter," Selzer said.

A helicopter with three people crashed Sunday, south of the Highway 64 bridge in Keystone Lake. The pilot told state troopers the helicopter lost power.

Two men and a woman were rescued safely by boaters on the lake.

"The fact that they all came out and nobody was hurt or injured--grace of God. Yeah," Selzer said.

6/3/2013 Related Story: Helicopter That Crashed In Keystone Lake Still Sitting 50-60 Feet Below Water

His company had the task of bringing that helicopter to the surface. It was discovered sitting on the bottom of the lake in about 60 feet of water, by using sonar technology.

"You can literally see the rotor blade coming up off the bottom and the dome and the pitch of the helicopter," Selzer said.

A diver then was able to attach cables from a crane to the helicopter, by touch and feel.

"It's simply pitch-black, you can look like this and can't see your hand in front of your mask," Selzer said.

The helicopter, which is registered with Crumpton Aviation of Tulsa, was lifted to the surface Monday evening.

In February, a Crumpton Aviation helicopter made an emergency landing at Tulsa International, when the tail rotor came off. No one was hurt.

Selzer says the company has a good reputation in the industry, and from what he understands, in this latest incident, the pilot did a good job handling the situation.

"They sat it down on the water correctly, laid it over on its side, were able to get the doors open and get out quickly, so they had no problems with the rotor swinging," Selzer said.

Recovery crews had environmental specialists on site and special equipment, including absorption materials, to contain any fuel that leaked.

The FAA says its investigation could take several weeks.