Crash Halts Helicopter Search for Debris
Posted on: Saturday, 29 March 2003, 06:00 CST
By PAM EASTON
HOUSTON (AP) -- Helicopters searching for space shuttle debris in east Texas were grounded Friday after a Forest Service chopper aiding the mission crashed in thick woods, killing two people on board and injuring three others.
The investigation was hampered because the crash site, about 35 miles east of Lufkin, was accessible only over muddy, rut-filled stretches of trail. All-terrain vehicles were brought in to assist crews trying to clear a road into the forest.
"Reports were that it lost power to the rotors," said FAA spokesman John Clabes. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said Friday two witnesses told officials the helicopter's "engine just stopped" and it "took a nose dive" about 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Killed were pilot Jules F. "Buzz" Mier Jr., 56, and Charles Krenek, 48, an aviation specialist with the Texas Forest Service. Mier's Arizona employer, Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, had been hired by the Forest Service to help in the search.
Three other occupants of the Bell 407 helicopter remained hospitalized. Ronnie Dale and Richard Lange, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, were in fair condition. Forest Service worker Matt Tschacher was in stable condition.
Trying to find debris, helicopter pilots fly just above the tree tops, said Papillon chief pilot Chuck Rush.
"It's pretty dangerous ... if you have a problem," he said. "It doesn't give you much time to react. That was probably something that led to their demise."
Search crews have been scouring eastern Texas since the shuttle broke apart Feb. 1 as it re-entered the atmosphere. Seven astronauts were killed. More than 10,000 searchers have recovered about 42,000 pieces of debris.
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