"Search Copter Crashes"
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MT. SHASTA — A National Guard helicopter with seven people on board crashed on a snowy slope Wednesday while searching for a Sacramento climber missing for more than a week.
No injuries were reported, but the crash postponed the search for 45-year-old John Miksits and immediately prompted a second rescue mission, this time for the rescuers themselves.
The cause of the crash had not been determined late Wednesday, but it's possible the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was driven into the mountain by strong winds, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department reported. The occupants — including four National Guard troop members, a Sacramento television cameraman and two U.S. Forest Service rangers — trudged 2,600 feet down the mountain in knee-high snow before a second Blackhawk helicopter from Sacramento was able to rescue them.
The helicopter crashed about 11:45 a.m. in a saddle between 14,162-foot Mt. Shasta and Shastina, at about 11,800 feet elevation. The crash site was a little over a mile up the mountain from where Miksits' climbing partner, Craig Hiemstra, was found dead Friday.
The search for Miksits was immediately put on hold after the crash, officials said. ''They're concentrating efforts on getting the crew down,'' said Sheriff's Department spokesman John Villani. ''They are the most immediate need.''
The helicopter reportedly flipped upon impact and landed on its side near a steep drop-off. Pilots immediately warned the passengers not to move for fear the helicopter would shift in the soft snow and fall over the cliff.
Once everyone was safely out of the helicopter, Forest Service ranger Dan Towner used his radio to alert search and rescue officials at the Weed Airport command post of the crash. Officials there immediately loaded a California Highway Patrol helicopter with bundles of skis and snowshoes for the stranded crew, tagged with green ribbons to make the packages visible once dropped from the air.
They also loaded a dozen plastic bags filled with dyes to splatter on the snow and show the downed crew where the equipment had fallen.
The helicopter circled over the mountain and dropped the bundles at about 10,000 feet while the crew — facing a high risk of avalanches — descended snowy Cascade Gulch on the west face of the mountain.
''The aircraft had visual contact with the crew and they indicated they were all right,'' Villani said. ''They got an OK sign.''
About 2:45 p.m., the second National Guard helicopter landed near Hidden Valley, a flat spot at about 9,200 feet, and took the four troops and cameraman to Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta for observation. Towner and the other ranger, Matt Hill, decided to ski the rest of the way to the Bunny Flat trailhead, where they were picked up and taken to the hospital.
''They're a little shaken, as you can imagine,'' said Bob Hammond, Forest Service district ranger. ''We're going to get them home to have a good night's sleep.''
All seven were expected to be released from the hospital today. The National Guard 126th Medical Company troop members — all of whom were from Sacramento or the San Francisco Bay area — planned to return home on the helicopter immediately afterward, said National Guard Capt. Michael Sable.
They were identified as Bob Nance of Napa and John Beadle, Michael DeCosta and Alan Worthy, all of Sacramento. The cameraman, Brian Pogue, works for KTXL Fox-40 television.
''We're just thankful they're OK,'' Sable said.
A National Guard accident investigation team will try to determine how the crash happened through interviews with crew members and, weather permitting, examination of the crash site, Sable said. But for now the $7 million to $10 million helicopter will remain on the side of the mountain, its condition unknown.
''We were unable to see any of the crash site'' because of a thick layer of clouds at about 10,000 feet, Sable said.
Had Towner and Hill — who each have a decade of experience on Mt. Shasta — not been on board to show the others the best route down the mountain, it's possible the story could have had a tragic twist, Hammond said. During the summer, both rangers teach training sessions on avalanche awareness.
''I think it was a blessing'' they were there, he said.
Meanwhile, Miksits' family members remained at the command post as they have every day for nearly a week, waiting for news about the father of two who has climbed Mt. Shasta as many as 10 times in the past. An autopsy this week found Hiemstra, his partner, died after breaking his neck, likely during a fall.
Officials had hoped to take advantage of a brief break in the weather Wednesday to look for Miksits. Another storm was expected to move into the area today.
''We've been going through every emotion we can go through,'' said Miksits' brother, Sieg, of Sacramento. ''It's frustrating, with the weather.''
Though the family members weren't happy the search had to be put off, Sieg Miksits said they were glad nobody was hurt.
''I don't care if it costs $25 million or $250 million, it (the helicopter) is just a piece of iron,'' he said. ''I'm just glad nobody was hurt. That's phenomenal.''
Officials believed Wednesday's crash was the first during a search and rescue operation on Mt. Shasta.
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