CAMDEN — The pilot who was lifting a container of six lead acid batteries from the parking lot of the Camden Snow Bowl to the top of Ragged Mountain was capably operating the helicopter, said the vice president of the New Hampshire-based helicopter company. Neither the pilot nor the helicopter suffered any malfunction, he said.

“The shipping container the batteries were sent in are under investigation,” said Kurt West, vice president at JBI Helicopters. “That appears to be our weak link.”

“The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident that occurred in Camden Oct. 22, during which material fell from a pallet being transported by helicopter to the top of Ragged Mountain,” the FAA said.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, a JBI helicopter had been contracted by Verizon Wireless to transport the batteries to the top of Ragged Mountain to service a cellular tower there. As the helicopter stationed toward the top the batteries released from the bottom of the helicopter and landed on the ground below, five of them burst and spilled 68 pounds of sulfuric acid gel onto the ground.

Three of the batteries exploded, resulting in small fires. One battery, landing on softer peat moss, remained intact.

Jeremy Greenman, an environmental responder for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, investigated the incident and commissioned Clean Harbors Environmental Services, of Hampden, an environmental clean-up crew, to pick up the battery pieces and remove three inches of contaminated soil from the area.

According to a report, the crew of two collected the battery debris, and found no burned leaves or wood. Charring was contained to the internal battery components and no melted plastics observed, the report said. The debris was bagged, loaded onto utility trailers and transported back down the mountain to steel drums on the back of a pick-up trucks. The crew also took soil samples from four locations.

Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley and Camden Parks and Recreation Director Landon Fake took an ATV themselves to the top of the mountain Friday morning to inspect.

“There was minimal damage up there,” said Peasley, who took photos to document for the town. The majority of the batteries landed in Rockport, on a 15-acre parcel owned by WaveSource LLC.

West, of JBI Helicopter, said Friday afternoon that his company had been working with Verizon Wireless to transport the batteries to the top of the mountain.

“Verizon was on-site and our safety people were on site,” he said. “There was no fire and no explosions.”

He said the shipping container holding the batteries was to be released at the top by a safety mechanism controlled by the pilot. The helicopter mechanisms were all intact and working properly, he said.

“There is a lot of finger-pointing going on,” he said. “This is an isolated situation, and there is an investigation process under way.”

Informal conversations about the incident describe the loading of the batteries onto a pallet, which ultimately was unable to bear the load and broke down the middle.

 From its base in Pembroke, N.H., JBI Helicopter Services provides lift work for construction projects with five Bell 206 helicopters and a a Garlick OH-58A. The company has been in business since 1983. Its pilots are FAA certified, instrument rated and are OAS/USFS carded. Each pilot completes Bell Factory Recurrent Training annually, according to the company’s website.

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Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 706-6657