3 dead after Sitka-based Coast Guard chopper crashes

July 07, 2010

Rear Adm. Gary Blore, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District, says the helicopter may have hit power lines before it crashed into the water, killing three of the four men aboard. (Courtesy KING5-TV)

by Christine Kim and Rebecca Palsha
Wednesday, July 7, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A helicopter crash Wednesday morning claimed the lives of three Coast Guard crewmen based in Sitka. The Coast Guard says four men were aboard the MH-60 Jayhawk when it went down off James Island near La Push, Wash.

It's standard procedure for Coast Guard crews to check in every 15 minutes when they're flying. When the helicopter's crew didn't check in at 9:30 a.m. or 9:45 a.m., the Coast Guard had already launched a rescue effort.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, the Coast Guard announced the crew was based in Sitka. Officials are not releasing their names, but say there was only one survivor in the all-male crew.

"He did have a broken arm and a broken leg and some superficial lacerations, but again nothing life-threatening," said Capt. Salvatore Palmeri, chief of the Coast Guard's Incident Management Division.

According to the Coast Guard, the chopper left Astoria, Ore. for routine servicing and fueling and was en route to its new home in Sitka, where it would have been the third of its kind.

The Coast Guard says power lines may have been the cause of the crash.

"The helicopter is in the water -- it appears to have landed inverted, and there are power lines laying on the beach. As to what came first, I don't know," said Rear Adm. Gary Blore, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District.

The Coast Guard credits members of the Quileute Nation Indian Reservation for rescuing two of the four crewmen from the water and taking them to a Washington hospital.

Darryl Penn, the harbormaster for the Quileute Nation in La Push, rescued the sole survivor.

"He was lucid, he was alive," Penn said. "He had some -- he was banged up really good, and like I said, it was just about doing the right thing."

The other two victims were found dead at the Jayhawk's controls by rescue divers.

"We're saddened, it is deeply personal to us. But we recognize there's a lot of people who assisted us and are thinking of us at this moment, and we appreciate that," Blore said.

The Coast Guard is focused on the one survivor, who remains hospitalized. Officials say at this time they do not know the cause of the crash, although the helicopter had a flight data recorder.

There will be two investigations of the crash. The administrative investigation will be based in Juneau, while the mishap investigation to determine the cause of the crash will be done in Washington, D.C.

Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com and Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com

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