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UPDATE: Helicopter Assisting in Mount Ho

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alimaui

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2002
Posts
207
UPDATE: Helicopter Crash (altitude related)

updated: 2:29 p.m.
MOUNT HOOD - An Airforce Blackhawk helicopter assisting in the rescue effort on Mount Hood has crashed below the area of the rescue.

A four man crew was on board and one person is critically injured according to Angie Blanchard with Clackamas County Sheriff's Department.

Blanchard says assistance from rescue crews in Salem and the 1042 National Guard Division have arrived on Mt. Hood.

Authorities believe the extreme thin air at the summit of Mt. Hood could have contributed to the crash.

katu.com will have more information as it becomes available.

Nine climbers fell into a crevasse near the summit of Mount Hood on Thursday and three of them were dead, officials said. Others were injured and rescue workers were trying to reach them.

"We do have three deceased people up there," said Angela Blanchard, Clackamas County sheriff's spokeswoman.

Blanchard said three of the nine climbers were critically injured.

Two of the critcally injured are being transported to Legacy Emanuel Hospital, OHSU will take the the other.

The first two of three critically injured climbers have been air-lifted off of Mt. Hood.

The three other seriously injured climbers are expected to be transported via ambulance to a hospital near Mount Hood.

Two groups of climbers were about 800 feet from the 11,240 summit of the tallest mountain in Oregon when they fell into a crevasse about 9 a.m., she said. The call for help came from a Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue paramedic with the group who used his cell phone.

Tim Birr with TVFR confirmed that six firefighters with TVFR are on the mountain for a recreational climb, but it is not known if they were involved in the accident.

http://katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=46784

My words:

I hate watching the news when they are speculating about causes and reactions.

Ali
 
Last edited:
From the washington post

Rescue Helicopter Crashes on Mt. Hood


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By Joseph B. Frazier
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, May 30, 2002; 5:28 PM


TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. – Nine climbers fell into a crevasse Thursday near the summit of 11,240-foot Mount Hood and three died. A helicopter attempting to rescue the survivors crashed on the mountainside.

One person on the Blackhawk helicopter was critically injured, and "we're trying to assess the rest," said Angela Blanchard, spokeswoman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department.

Five people, including the pilot and co-pilot, were on board, according to KGW-TV.

Blanchard said she didn't know what caused the chopper to crash.

Television news helicopters showed the Oregon Air National Guard helicopter hovering and then smashing into the mountain not far from the crevasse into which the climbers had fallen. The Blackhawk's nose hit the snow, and the aircraft then rolled down a slope.

Sgt. Alan Alderman of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was monitoring radio traffic and said he heard the transmission, "Chopper's going down, chopper's going down."

The weather was sunny and winds were calm, easing the task of helicopter crews, but officials said any high-altitude operation is risky.

Rescuers had set out on foot, in helicopters and in snow vehicles in an attempt to reach the victims. Three of the climbers died when they fell, and three others were reported critically injured.

By midday a helicopter had lifted at least one person off the mountain to be taken to a Portland hospital.

Authorities said two groups of climbers were about 800 feet from the summit of Oregon's highest mountain when they fell into the crevasse about 9 a.m. A paramedic with the group used his cell phone to call for help.

"We do have three deceased people up there," said Angela Blanchard, Clackamas County sheriff's spokeswoman. She said three others were critically injured.

It was not immediately known whether the climbers were ascending the peak or coming down when the accident happened.

Keith Mischke, executive director of a climbing club, said the crevasse into which the climbers fell is about 25 to 30 feet deep. Climbers normally go around it or cross it on one of the snow bridges that naturally form across the gap, he said.

"They go across the bridges one at a time usually – a snow bridge can be between 2 feet or 15 feet wide," he said. But he added: "If somebody falls they could pull the others in."

The accident came a day after at least two climbers who became trapped in a storm died on Mount Rainier, about 100 miles to the north of Mount Hood in Washington state.

The worst climbing disaster on Mount Hood was in May 1986 when 11 people died. Nine teen-agers and two teachers from the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland froze to death while retreating from a storm during an annual climb by students and staff.
 
Dunno if you have seen the video just yet...

But they sure were lucky, I've careened down much longer descents than that. It sure could have been ugly had they not hit that col.

Anyone else notice this is the second AF Helicopter to crash while rescuing people up in the mountains this spring?

News reported one injury from the helo crash by the way, the three fatalities were some of the guys in the crevasse, and by the looks of it on the tele, that was one mother of a crevasse.

Dan
 
You're right.

The first time I saw the tape, I didn't realize that the helo would stop rolling down the mountian. I'll bet the guy who was hurt was the winch operator. He must have been in a washing machine back there....
 
Truly incredible…

God must have a special place in heaven for people willing to risk their very own lives to save another, someone they don’t even know.

:(
 

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