If You See Blue Or Black Helicopters Over Millburn, Here's Why

MILLBURN, NJ — The Township of Millburn wanted residents to know that this week and next week, JCP&L will be doing "routine patrols" on its transmission lines.

"A routine patrol is flown at speeds of 25-35 m.p.h. and is a general, overall look at the transmission line," the town said. "The onboard inspector is looking for any outstanding damage on the transmission line conductors, hardware, and structures."

Chesapeake Bay Helicopters (CBH) will be doing the work. The helicopter to be used for the patrols this week will be a blue, Bell Jet Ranger with tail registration number N719CB.

The patrols this week are estimated to take two days to complete.

Then, during the week of March 8, weather permitting, CBH will be mobilizing a different helicopter to the JCP&L region and will begin performing UV/IR patrols on all JCP&L 500kV and 230kV bulk transmission lines. The helicopter to be used for these patrols will be a black and silver, Hughes MD500 with tail registration number N774CB.

Those patrols are estimated to take one to one and a half weeks to complete.

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