Aug 8, 2008 8:20 pm US/Pacific
Cockpit Recorder Found From Fire Copter Crash
REDDING (CBS 5 / AP) ―
Investigators on Friday recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of a firefighting helicopter that crashed in a Northern California forest with 13 fire personnel on board, killing nine.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called Tuesday night's fiery crash in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest "a devastating tragedy" and a reminder of the dangers firefighters face on a daily basis while battling wildfires.
Schwarzenegger on Friday called the victims "true heroes" and said "we are eternally grateful for their service and sacrifice."
Witnesses of the accident told investigators the aircraft had lifted off more slowly than normal before it struck a tree and crashed in the remote forest area, officials said Friday.
After its nose hit the tree about 40 to 50 feet above ground, the chopper's rotor blades swiped tree branches before it slammed into the ground, said National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins, citing accounts from 10 witnesses interviewed by investigators.
The aircraft came to rest on its left side about 150 yards from its take-off site and then "quickly filled with very dense, thick black smoke" before igniting in a fiery blaze, Higgins said at a news conference in Redding, about 40 miles southeast of where the helicopter went down.
The Sikorsky S-61N was ferrying ten firefighters, two pilots and a U.S. Forest Service employee back to base camp when it fell out of the sky. Four of those aboard were rescued and taken to hospitals.
Investigators said the recovered cockpit voice recorder was bound for an NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C. where they hoped to have it analyzed on Saturday.
"The recorder is in better condition than we hoped given the condition of the crash site," Higgins said, but it still wasn't clear whether it contained useful information.
Investigators planned to survey the treetop heights and topographical features of the crash site in the Shasta-Trinity forest, take fuel samples and review the aircraft's maintenance records. They also intended to analyze the chopper's escape windows and seat belts to see about difficulties in evacuating.
Rick Charlson said his son, Scott Charlson, called Tuesday morning before leaving on the firefighting assignment.
"He was excited," said Charlson, a salesman for a fertilizer and irrigation store in Eugene, Oregon. "He'd never been in a helicopter before. So he was really looking forward to that too."
"We said all our 'I love yous' - that was the end of every conversation," Charlson said Friday.
Scott Charlson, 25, was one of seven firefighters working for Grayback Forestry Inc. who was killed. A pilot who worked for Carson Helicopters Inc. and one U.S. Forest Service employee, who on Friday was identified as Jim Ramage, 63, of Redding, also died.
Three firefighters and a pilot survived the crash, and the NTSB planned to interview them when they're "medically available," Higgins said.
Firefighters Michael Brown, 20, and Jonathan Frohreich, 18, were in good condition Friday, and co-pilot Bill Coultas, 44, who suffered burns on about a third of his body, was in critical but stable condition.
Firefighter Rick Schroeder, 42, was released from the hospital Friday after suffering a cracked shoulder and vertebra along with scratches, bruises and a badly cut lip.
At the hospital, he appeared in a wheelchair before reporters with his sister, teenage daughter and mother. His lip swollen and stitched up, he had trouble speaking and allowed a nurse to read a statement on his behalf.
"The past few days have been very traumatic for me and so many of my colleagues and their families," the statement said. "I feel so very fortunate to be here with you and to be able to go home."
His mother, Linda Parks, had just arrived from Medford, Ore. to take him home.
"I'm very lucky to have my son alive," she said. "He's suffering emotionally. He lost a lot of his friends and co-workers."
Also Friday, Grayback released the name of its seventh employee killed in the crash after locating his family at an Oregon campground. He was identified as Steven Renno, 21, of Cave Junction, Oregon.
Hundreds of S-61s were built for military and civilian use. The helicopter has been in commercial service for more than 40 years and is one of the two models used to carry the president.
According to NTSB records, there have been 11 accidents involving civilian S-61s since 1983.
Investigators attributed one to "corrosion pitting" that caused a rotor to disintegrate in 1983 and another to a malfunction of an input freewheeling unit. The other crashes were blamed on pilot error, faulty maintenance or remained under investigation by foreign governments because they happened outside the U.S.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported another four accidents; two were blamed on mechanical failures.
In April, the FAA proposed a new "airworthiness directive" for S-61s, saying it was prompted by Sikorsky's "re-evaluation of the retirement life" for the main rotor shaft.
The proposed directive was "intended to prevent main rotor shaft structural failure, loss of power to the main rotor, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter," the FAA said in announcing it.
The announcement included a public comment period, which ended on June 23; the agency is still weighing the proposed rule, said FAA spokesman Les Dorr.
Dorr said it was premature to speculate on whether the proposed directive had any connection to this week's crash.
Wayne Coulson, the CEO of Canada-based Coulson Group, said he has a fleet of five Sikorsky firefighting helicopters identical to one that crashed.
"We have a 110,000 safe flight hours on them. They're a superior aircraft," Coulson said.
Carson Helicopters "is a competitor of ours, a very safe company and a good competitor so it's very unusual that something like this happened," Coulson said in an interview with Associated Press Television News.
Oroville Fire Threatens Homes
Elsewhere Friday, high winds were preventing firefighters from containing a 2,500-acre blaze in Northern California threatening 75 homes east of Lake Oroville.
The fire was burning toward the small Sierra foothills town of Berry Creek, about 70 miles north of Sacramento.
Firefighters on Friday were trying to keep the blaze from jumping the Middle Fork of the Feather River south of the town. Flames jumped containment lines in three spots earlier in the week.
The fire began Sunday, burning a mobile home and barn, and has since scorched nearly 4 square miles.
More than 1,400 firefighters, 12 helicopters and five air tankers were attacking the blaze, which was 50 percent contained.
An evacuation center was set up in Oroville.
No Charges In Yosemite Fire
Meantime, state fire officials aren't recommending charges for a 28-year-old target shooter from Mariposa suspected of sparking a massive wildfire that burnt down 30 homes.
The young man, who has not been identified, has admitted that he started the fire at 3:15 p.m. on June 25 while shooting along a river bank in a remote area west of Yosemite National Park.
Authorities said he used a legal weapon and purposefully moved near the water to reduce the risk of sparking a blaze. Once the fire was sparked, he tried calling authorities and flagged down officials to alert them about the blaze.
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said they believed the fire was an accident.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
