A helicopter hovering over Marlinton Monday morning turned heads and caused more than a little speculation.

The Hughes 369D, registered to AGROTORS of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was being used by Allegheny Power to conduct an inspection of transmission lines, according to Allegheny Power spokesman David Neurohr.

Town residents craned their heads from front porches and cars slowed down on side streets as the helicopter circled in and around Marlinton for at least 20 minutes around 9 a.m. The chopper touched down momentarily at the helipad near the former shoe factory on Second Avenue.

A crew member who had been standing on one of the helicopterﾒs runners walked around the industrial site for a moment before the aircraft lifted off again and flew northward along the Greenbrier River.

While over Second Avenue, the crewman who was on the runner appeared to throw or drop a handful of something granular from the chopper. Neurohr said he did not know what the substance may have been.

ﾓThe task was a comprehensive patrol,ﾔ said Neurohr. ﾓThis does not involve the dispensing of any material from the helicopter.ﾔ

The helicopter crew was conducting a regular, scheduled inspection of electrical transmission lines between Marlinton, Snowshoe and Elkins from 8 a.m. until a little after 11 a.m., said Neurohr.

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