‘Copter-saw’: Helicopter with giant dangling blades buzzing over Mass. communities

HAMPDEN, Mass. — Don’t panic if you see a helicopter with a massive dangling saw in the sky over your community in the coming weeks. Eversource is conducting important work.

A highly skilled chopper pilot will be flying over towns and cities in parts of Massachusetts as the utility company starts trimming trees along our power lines to help reduce outages when storms hit, Eversource said in a series of Facebook posts.

“What a sight! Did you spot the copter-saw in Hampden today? This eye-popping method of trimming trees along our power lines to help reduce outages is also faster and safer than having crews hike into remote areas and climb trees with saws to conduct proactive maintenance,” Eversource wrote in a post earlier this week.

By using rotating saw blades suspended beneath the helicopter, Eversource said the pilot can safely complete an amount of trimming that would typically take several crews weeks to complete.

The aircraft flies 200 feet off the ground and the saw that hangs down is between 90 and 120 feet in length, The Boston Globe reported.

Flights started Tuesday and are slated to continue through April 6 between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., weather permitting, according to the newspaper.

Eversource said the innovative solution will focus on rugged areas of the Bay State.

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