SALESVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A tour company helicopter crashed Tuesday in northern Arkansas near the Norfork Dam, killing two people aboard, officials said.

The helicopter, owned by Ozark Mountain Helicopters LLC, a tour company based out of Branson, Mo., crashed just before 9:30 a.m., FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said. Baxter County sheriff's deputies said the helicopter came down on the far side of Norfork Dam in the Overlook Estates area.

FAA records show the Hughes Model 269B helicopter was built in 1965. A manager at Ozark Mountain Helicopters confirmed it was one of his helicopters but declined to comment further.

P.J. Spaul, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the helicopter clipped transmission lines running from the dam either before or as it crashed. Spaul said the crash cut the lines and sparked two power surges in generators at the Bull Shoals and Norfork power plants.

Spaul said fire-suppression systems went off immediately after the power surges.

"We're still assessing if there was any damage to our facilities," Spaul said.

Officials described the area as rugged, saying Arkansas Game & Fish Commission officers had to respond to the crash on off-road vehicles. Black smoke from the crash could be seen from a distance.

Salesville is about 10 miles southwest of Mountain Home in northern Arkansas.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)