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Poor lighting suspected in Juneau helicopter crash

 

MENDENHALL: Three of six passengers were injured; pilot has 35 years of experience.

The Associated Press

Published: June 3, 2006

Last Modified: June 3, 2006 at 02:37 AM

 

 

JUNEAU -- Poor visibility may have contributed to the crash of a sightseeing helicopter on the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Three passengers on board received what officials said were minor injuries in the crash Wednesday of a Coastal Helicopters Bell 206.

Six passengers and a pilot were on board. The helicopter sustained significant damage, authorities said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Alaska regional director Jim LaBelle said preliminary reports indicate the pilot became disoriented because of the weather.

"From what I understand, it is what we refer to as whiteout and flat-light conditions," he said. Pilots cannot perceive depth under flat-light conditions because snow, clouds and sometimes rain blend into the background and become indistinguishable from the landscape.

"Basically, the rotors hit the side of the glacier," he said. "He had been communicating with another helicopter and looking for the other helicopter ... and in the process he was turning the helicopter and that is probably when it descended and collided with the glacier."

The pilot is experienced, said Coastal Helicopters president Jim Wilson.

"This was his second season working for us and he's been a pilot for 35 years," he said.

The company is working to salvage the helicopter, Wilson said.

"We're just not sure how bad (it is) right now," he said. "We're in the process of recovery and getting it down right now so we can analyze it."

The company will dismantle the helicopter and fly it to Juneau.

"It had an insured value of about $600,000," he said.

One of the company's helicopters crashed on the Mendenhall Glacier almost seven years ago, killing six passengers and the pilot.

Wilson said his company has a good safety record. Any mode of transportation has risks, he said.

"If you consider the number of hours we've flown and the number of passengers we've moved since we've done business here, it's probably as safe a mode of transportation as any," he said.

The company averages 25 to 30 flights daily in summer. A high percentage carry workers for mining, construction or power companies, Wilson said. Coastal averages eight to 10 daily sightseeing flights in summer.

Joette Storm, community relations manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the government has been working with the cruise ship industry and businesses on a safety program to educate consumers about the risks of flying.

"We encourage passengers, if the weather is not good, to talk to the pilot -- not to insist on flying because they paid for it," she said. Neither passengers nor pilots should feel pressured to fly if weather turns sour, she said.

"We try to remind people that they are part of the circle of safety too," she said.

LaBelle said it will take about six months to complete an official accident report on the crash Wednesday.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the news flash!!