3 Dead After Alaska-Bound Chopper Crash

The Coast Guard is confirming three Alaska-based crewmembers are dead after a chopper crashed just off the coast of Washington state Wednesday morning.

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By Carolyn Kuckertz

Story Created: Feb 22, 2011 at 5:26 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 22, 2011 at 5:26 PM AKDT

Original article posted July 7, 2010

The Coast Guard is confirming three Alaska-based crewmembers are dead after a chopper crashed just off the coast of Washington state Wednesday morning.

Coast Guard officials say all four crewmembers were stationed in Sitka.

The MH-60 Jawhawk crashed near LaPush, which is about 100 miles west on Seattle, on its way to Sitka around 9:45 a.m. PST after taking off from a Coast Guard base in Astoria, Oregon.
 
The Coast Guard says rescuers were able to quickly pull one crewmember out of the water.  He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries including cuts as well as a broken leg and a broken arm.
 
The bodies of the three men killed during the crash have all been recovered and their names will not be released until next of kin can be notified.
 
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Coast Guard officials say they are now moving into a recovery phase and when finished, they will remove the aircraft from the water.
 
Coast Guard Officials told CBS 11 News they do not want to comment right now on what caused the chopper to crash, but according to the Peninsula Daily News, a local newspaper based on the Olympic Peninsula, the helicopter clipped marked power lines that extend from mainland town of LaPush to James Island.
 
Witnesses told the Peninsula Daily News that the helicopter was coming in fast and low, and banked sharply as a last-second attempt to avoid the power lines.
 
Also, according to the newspaper, after seeing the helicopter slam into the water just outside the Quileute Marina, Harbormaster Darryl Penn and four other fishermen jumped into two skiffs and headed for the sinking aircraft.
 
They were able to pull three of the crewmembers out of the water and say they tried to give CPR to the men while waiting for ambulances to arrive.
 
Coast Guard officials say the helicopter was on its way from North Carolina back to the Coast Guard station in Sitka, when it stopped in Astoria for routine maintenance.
 
This story is developing, please check back here throughout the day for updates.
 

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