Avalanche Incident
Avalanche Incident
January 12, 1998
There were numerous natural and human triggered slides yesterday and today that I heard about. One of them caused serious injuries when the person hit a tree in west facing Pink Pine in Little Cottonwood Canyon. There were a couple other human triggered slides yesterday in closed out of bounds terrain near Powder Mt. in the Ogden area mountains. No one was seriously injured in either of those slides near Powder Mt. A patroller took a long ride today on a steep E aspect and ended up with a broken femur but is doing OK.
January 13, 1998
As most of you know, a person was caught in a small avalanche late Sunday afternoon on Pink Pine Ridge in Little Cottonwood. He was seriously injured and after being evacuated to the road, was killed in a helicopter crash. He was a good friend of all of us at the Forecast Center.
We wish to express our sympathy and sorrow to the family and friends of Dave Anderson and the family and friends of the Air Med helicopter crew. We would also like to thank the rescue team and avalanche workers that assisted Dave and later reached the crash site despite difficult and dangerous conditions.
Deseret News, article excerpt
By Ray Grass - Deseret News outdoor editor
On Sunday morning the recording warned of high avalanche danger moving to extreme as the day passed. It went on to give further warnings: Stay off slopes steeper than 25 degrees; stay out of avalanche slide paths; stay out of gullies, even small ones; watch the weather.
On Sunday there were numerous natural and human-triggered avalanches. David Anderson, his wife Melinda McIlwaine and a friend skied from the popular White Pine parking areas, located below Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon. He skied from the ridge down into White Pine Canyon successfully, then chose to hike the ridge and ski a west-northwest slope into Red Pine near the 9,700-foot elevation.
He triggered a small, fast-moving slide about 30 feet wide, 2 feet to 3 feet deep, that ran about 60 vertical feet. It slammed him into a tree and broke both legs and his hip. The helicopter that evacuated him crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday, killing Anderson and his three rescuers.
It was not the only slide Sunday. Numerous slides, some up to 600 feet wide and 6 feet deep, ran in the Provo and Ogden canyon areas.
Family was skier's motivation
He survived the avalanche only to die in copter crash
By Amy Donaldson and Spencer Young - Deseret News staff writers
David Anderson survived being beaten and buried by an avalanche - something many people would succumb to - for the sake of his family, a friend said.
"Dave was an incredibly strong person - both physically and mentally," said Tad Lynn, who was skiing with Anderson when the avalanche occurred. "Very few people could have survived what he did. But he did - primarily for his family.
"The tragic irony is that just when everyone thought it was over, it wasn't."
Anderson, 43, Sandy, was killed when the medical helicopter that was to carry him to waiting doctors at University Hospital crashed just a few seconds after taking to the air Sunday night. Also killed in the accident were the pilot Stan Berg, 48, Roy; paramedic Tim Hynes, 45, Midvale; and nurse Shayne Carnahan, 32, Clinton.
Lynn was skiing with Anderson and Anderson's wife, Melinda McIlwaine, Sunday. After Anderson was pulled from the snow, Lynn skied for help while McIlwaine stayed with her husband.
Lynn called for help on a cellular phone and then guided rescue crews to Anderson's location. The 43-year-old father of two suffered two broken legs and internal injuries in the snowslide.
While Anderson's family and friends, like those of the three rescue workers, struggled to understand why the tragedy occurred, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board began their investigation into how it happened. It is a process, one official said, that could take months. "It really depends on the weather," said Arnold Scott, an air safety investigator with the board. "If it gets too bad, we might be here until springtime." At this point mechanical failure isn't suspected, Scott said. Witnesses heard the helicopter's engines running up until the explosion.
One of those witnesses was Salt Lake County sheriff's search and rescue Sgt. Lane Larkin, who spoke to Berg on the radio just before the crash. "He (the pilot) said he was going to gain some altitude," Larkin said. "I said OK, then I heard a big explosion."
Deputies rushed down the canyon and tried to find what had happened and didn't see anything, Larkin said. Attempts to contact Berg by radio failed. It was snowing heavily and visibility was limited to about 200 feet when the helicopter lifted off, Larkin said. The sergeant was part of the crew that had rescued Anderson from the avalanche hours before.
The helicopter was supposed to fly west out of the canyon and head north to University Hospital. Berg never indicated that he intended to stray from that route, Larkin said. The helicopter was equipped with a tracking device that's supposed to send out an electronic signal in the event of a crash. But for some reason it malfunctioned and didn't do that until about 3 p.m. Monday - some 15 hours after it crashed.
The helicopter slammed into the mountain about 1 1/4 mile up the mountain from the road. Search and rescue workers hiked to the crash site up steep terrain and through deep snow. The blades got tangled in a patch of pine trees and the helicopter slammed into some rocks, Larkin said. It crashed at an elevation of about 8,500 feet. The team got to the helicopter about 4:30 a.m., about two hours after rescuers located the site. Because it was obvious there were no survivors and the avalanche danger was so high, search and rescue volunteers hiked down and waited until the next morning to return.
A medical helicopter owned by Air Methods went down in Denver about a month ago. All four of its passengers were killed. Air Methods, a company that leases medical helicopters, also owns the University Hospital chopper that crashed Monday.
Lynn said having other people risk their lives to save him is the last thing Anderson would have wanted. "He was an extraordinary person," Lynn said. "Definitely the most important thing in his life was being there for his kids."
Anderson shared his love of the outdoors with his wife and the fact that "Lindy" stayed with him after the avalanche surprised no one. "Their dedication for each other was like that all the time," said George Jamison, another friend.
He said Anderson was intimately familiar with local backcountry terrain, particularly the White and Red Pine areas, and was a knowledgeable, careful skier.
Salt Lake Fire Capt. Devin Villa said fire officials have been trying to coordinate with University Hospital and families about a memorial service, which he said would occur Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The service will honor the three rescue workers killed in the crash. Hynes is the first city firefighter to die in the line of duty since 1972.
Deseret News staff writer Brooke Adams contributed to this story.
The following article was submitted using the online report form
By Amy Donaldson and Lois M. Collinsbr Deseret News staff writers
LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON - Four people died Sunday when a medical helicopter crashed just seconds after picking up a skier who'd been rescued from an avalanche several hours earlier. The University of Utah Hospital AirMed helicopter slammed into the side of the canyon just a few seconds after taking off from a parking lot at Snowbird Ski Resort. Killed in the crash were: pilot Stan Berg, 48, Roy; paramedic Tim Hynes, 45, Midvale; nurse Shayne Carnahan, 32, Clinton; and the patient, David Anderson, 43, address unknown.
Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Capt. Jeff Carr said it was unknown what caused the Bell 222 twin-engine helicopter to crash but said several members of the search and rescue team heard the crash. "Some said they witnessed the bird, a few seconds prior (to the sound of the crash), having some problems," he said. "I don't want to speculate on what caused those. We just don't know."
Carr said weather conditions were windy and bad when the helicopter took off. When Berg didn't respond to radio calls, rescue workers immediately began preparing to search for the helicopter, which Civil Air Patrol crews were not able to locate by flying overhead. "It was dark and snowing," Carr said. "Probably the worst conditions you could imagine for trying to find something."
Search and rescue volunteers waited while officials "shot the area" in an attempt to minimize the avalanche danger, Carr said. They'd only been able to use snowmobiles part of the way when rescuing Anderson earlier because of the avalanche risk. At 2:10 a.m., the crews spotted the helicopter. "Someone actually saw the smoke and flames on the hillside - that's how we actually located the wreckage," Carr said.
Working in the dark, snowy and extremely delicate conditions, crews slowly made their way to the crash site, which he described as "fairly steep and rugged." Crews reached the wreckage about 4:30 a.m. "It was fairly obvious there were no survivors," Carr said. "So we backed everybody out until daylight."
At 9:30 a.m. Carr said the wreckage was still burning and rescue workers were trying to rest before they tried to recover the bodies. Most of those who work on the search and rescue team are volunteers. They'd been on the mountain for hours rescuing Anderson, who was caught in an avalanche about 5 p.m. Anderson was reportedly skiing with his wife and friends when he was buried by the avalanche, according to Bob Bonar, general manager at Snowbird.
Members of the Wasatch Backcountry Rescue Group were called out to join in the rescue attempt about 5:15 p.m. Sunday. It was already dark and difficult to see at that point and "it took a while just to get up there and find them." Bonar said that Anderson was wearing a beacon and was not skiing out of bounds at the time of the snowslide, which reportedly "looked like it had a 3- or 4-foot crown at the top of the slide."
Carr said another AirMed helicopter came to the ski resort at that time, but because it was going to take crews hours to get Anderson out, the pilot decided to leave. It was a different rescue crew that came later, Carr said. Anderson broke both legs and suffered internal injuries when he was knocked down by the slide. Another skier in the area called for help on a cellular phone and guided rescuers to the scene of the accident, which was located about 3 miles from the canyon road. Other skiers stayed with the injured man until rescuers arrived.
Carr said rescue crews used snowmobiles for about a mile and then they had to switch to skis and snowshoes. "He was in very serious condition," Carr said of Anderson. "They were concerned he was going to be a fatality. He was far from OK." They reached the site of the avalanche about 7:45 p.m. and brought the victim down to a command post. Anderson was conscious when he was loaded into the helicopter.
Carr said the weather had been stormy on and off all day, but it was clear when Berg landed the helicopter shortly before 11 p.m. A strong storm front moved off the Utah-Idaho border Sunday night, hitting in Little Cottonwood Canyon about 10 p.m. The storm was laced with snow pellets, thunder, lighting and strong winds, according to William Alder of the National Weather Service.
The AirMed control room was in contact with the helicopter just before it lifted off from Snowbird, said John Dwan, spokesman for the University Hospital. As soon as radio contact was lost, the emergency room at University Hospital was closed down and emergencies diverted to other hospitals. It reopened at 9 a.m. Monday. The impact of the closure on area hospitals was minimal.
"It was just impossible for the doctors and nurses to take care of patients with this pending, not knowing what happened," Dwan said. "These people really are a family. They're a team, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their job is saving lives. There's a real bonding that takes place between people like that. Suddenly to lose three of their own in the crash, plus the patient - and nothing is more important to these people than patients - it's been absolutely devastating." AirMed, which has its own team of nurses, pilots and paramedics, operates within the emergency room at the hospital. Following discovery of the crash, AirMed suspended all operations for at least 24 hours "to get organized, regroup and find out what happened," said Dwan.
All that hospital personnel knew in the early hours after the crash site was found was that "it was dark, a front came through, it was snowing and apparently the pilot became disoriented and flew into the mountain," Dwan said. Decisions about whether to fly if weather conditions make a flight potentially unsafe are left to the pilot.
LDS Hospital's Life Flight crew is reeling with news of the accident, according to Dave Midget, a hospital spokesman. The two air-rescue teams - the U.'s AirMed and LDS Hospital Life Flight - work closely with each other. Members of the two teams know each other well.
"This has hit our program very hard," said Midget. "These weren't just fellow health-care professionals but our friends and colleagues, too. We'll be doing everything we can as the day progresses to support our colleagues at the U."
Dwan confirmed that Anderson's wife was waiting at University Hospital for her husband to be brought in when she was informed of the crash.
The most recent Utah air-rescue death was April 11, 1983. University Hospital AirMed pilot Louis A. Mertz, 29, was killed when his helicopter crashed into the foothills above the university during heavy fog.
Sunday's helicopter accident marked the first anniversary of several huge avalanches that tumbled down the Cottonwood Canyons, damaging about 50 cars and stranding almost 4,000 skiers overnight in lodges at Alta and Snowbird.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were to arrive in Salt Lake City on Monday to determine the cause of the crash, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle.
Bodies recovered in helicopter crash
AP - 11.47 p.m. EDT (445 GMT) January 12, 1998
By Robert Gehrke, Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Rescuers braved steep terrain and the threat of avalanches Monday to recover the bodies of four men killed in a medical helicopter that crashed in a snow storm.
"It was an effort, but we've got them all down,'' said sheriff's Sgt. Lane Larkin. "It was bad, really bad.''
The University of Utah Health Sciences Center helicopter touched down Sunday at the White Pine area, about a mile from Snowbird ski resort, to help a skier who was caught in an avalanche and suffered two broken legs and a broken pelvis.
A storm kicked up moments after the Bell 222 twin-engine helicopter took off for the hospital around 11 p.m.
"The last thing our people on the ground heard was he said he was going to climb,'' sheriff's Sgt. Jim Potter said. "They saw him go northward unexpectedly and he almost immediately disappeared from sight.''
A storm struck just as the helicopter climbed, according to witnesses. "You could almost have snapped your fingers and it was there,'' Potter said of the storm, which dumped a foot of snow and produced gusty winds and lighting.
The helicopter, found burning, apparently had slammed into a granite cliff.
Killed were pilot Stan Berg, 48; paramedic Tim Hynes, 45; flight nurse Shayne Carnahan, 32; and skier David Anderson, 43.
Possible avalanches and the terrain kept crews from reaching the wreckage until morning. Anderson's wife, who was skiing with her husband when he was injured, was at the hospital when she got word of his death.
4 die as rescue helicopter crashes in snowstor
AP - January 12, 1998 - 8:52 p.m. EST (0152 GMT)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A medical helicopter that had just picked up an injured skier crashed in a snowstorm on the way to the hospital, killing all four people aboard.
Searchers found the heavily damaged helicopter early Monday morning in Little Cottonwood Canyon, about 18 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
"It's a very sad and tragic day for university hospital and the state of Utah," said John Dwan, spokesman for the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. "Three individuals dedicated to helping other people and saving lives lost theirs."
The helicopter took off from Snowbird Ski Resort on Sunday night. A snowstorm blew in as it was going to retrieve a backcountry skier injured in an avalanche.
After the skier was picked up, search and rescue crews saw the helicopter hovering overhead and believed it was going to land, according to television station KUTV. Then it suddenly rose, veered to the right and disappeared.
Found dead at the crash site were pilot Stan Berg, paramedic Tim Hynes, nurse Shayne Carnahan and David Anderson, the injured skier. Their ages weren't immediately available.
Air Methods Corporation Confirms Fatal Helicopter Accident
SOURCE: Air Methods Corporation
DENVER, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Methods Corporation (Nasdaq: AIRM) announced that late Sunday, January 11, 1998, one of its medically equipped Bell 222 helicopters crashed in the mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah. The helicopter was on a mission to pick up an avalanche victim. The Air Methods' pilot, two medical crew members and the patient aboard the helicopter died in the crash. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Company and others.
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