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Friday, June 19, 2009
Helicopter Wreckage To Get Closer Look
By Raam Wong
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE — Salvage crews will soon begin removing the destroyed State Police helicopter that crashed on Santa Fe Baldy last week and bring it to a storage facility for further investigation of what went wrong, a federal aviation official said Thursday.
The helicopter crashed in bad weather moments after it picked up lost hiker Megumi Yamamoto. The June 9 accident killed Yamamoto and the pilot, Sgt. Andy Tingwall, while a third passenger, the mission's spotter, survived.
Examination of the wreckage showed the tail boom and rotors had separated from the fuselage, according to a preliminary report Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"The cockpit was fragmented, and the rotor mast and transmission were pushed in the fuselage," states the report, which is available on the NTSB Web site.
Dan Baker, an NTSB air safety investigator in Denver, said investigators have yet to access the wreckage, which is spread across a steep hillside. Baker said he hoped to visit the site when the debris is removed, which could be as soon as next week.
State Police spokesman Peter Olson said Wednesday the wreckage would likely be hoisted up by helicopter. The work needs to be done soon to avoid the coming monsoon season, Olson said.
Baker said the debris would likely be taken to a facility in Greeley, Colo.
The one-page NTSB report released Thursday is based on accounts from eyewitnesses; Officer Wesley Cox, the lone survivor; and radio communications.
Cox told investigators they had located the hiker just before dark and landed, according to the report. Tingwall shut down the helicopter and set off to find Yamamoto, after which it began sleeting.
The report states Cox strapped Yamamoto in the rear, right, forward-facing seat, while he was seated in the same position next to her. The report does not indicate whether Cox and Tingwall were buckled in, but Baker said Cox told investigators they were.
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