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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Missing Officer 'Happy When He's in the Air'
By Hailey Heinz
Journal Staff Writer
The State Police sergeant still missing late Wednesday in the mountains above Santa Fe is a well-known pilot who recently was named Officer of the Year and has made several high-profile rescues.
Sgt. Andy Tingwall, 36, who was flying the helicopter that crashed Tuesday night, is most at home when flying, State Police spokesman Peter Olson said.
"His true love is flying," Olson said. "He is happy when he's in the air."
Tingwall has logged about 13,000 hours of flight time since beginning his career as a State Police pilot. He was named State Police Officer of the Year for 2008, largely because of an August rescue when he pulled a man out of a flooded Albuquerque arroyo.
Olson said Tingwall, who has been a State Police officer for 13 1/2 years, was eating dinner last year at a restaurant when he heard a radio transmission about a man in an arroyo.
"He ran out the front door of the restaurant and saw the man stuck under a bridge at Carlisle and I-40," Olson said. "He climbed down the arroyo bank and just grabbed this large man out of the river."
Olson said Tingwall was sheepish about the attention he got after the rescue.
"Andy is the kind of guy that didn't think anything of it," Olson said. "He just said, 'You'd do the same for me.' He was kind of embarrassed by the fame ... he got from that."
Tingwall was also instrumental in the July 2008 rescue of a group of Boy Scouts who got lost in the Santa Fe National Forest and had to be hoisted to safety. Tingwall was piloting the helicopter that spotted and lifted the scouts.
"He's very pleasant, easygoing, likes to joke," Olson said. "He can take a joke, can give a joke. He's one of those guys that not much really bothers him."
State Police Lt. Eric Garcia, who trained with Tingwall, describes him as a "born leader."
"He takes a lot of care in everything he does, whether it's making a media release, investigating something or doing a rescue," Garcia said.
He said Tingwall's favorite pastimes are spending time with his family, working out and, of course, flying.
"It even says on his voicemail: 'If I'm flying, I'll call you when I get down. If I'm jogging, I'll call you in 40 or 50 minutes,' " Garcia said.
Tingwall frequently works as the department's public information officer, distributing information to news media about breaking news around the state.
Ralph Gonzales, a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department tactical flight officer who knows Tingwall and trained with him, said Tingwall is committed to his job.
"Every department has that person who you can identify as a loyal person and a dedicated cop. He is that guy," said Gonzales, who did "dunker training" with Tingwall to train for a water landing. "He is an intense, dedicated guy."
State Police Chief Faron Segotta said during a news conference Wednesday that Tingwall is "trained for this" and searchers are hopeful he found shelter after he was ejected from the helicopter.
Journal staff writer T.J. Wilham contributed to this report.
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