Lynda Cameron has never forgotten the plane crash outside Aspen that she survived, but which claimed her father’s life 34 years ago.
Nor has she forgotten those who rescued her and five others after the plane went down in the Capitol Creek Valley during a snowstorm on Nov. 27, 1977.
On Nov. 29, the survivor from Oklahoma returned to Aspen and the Main Street headquarters of Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA). Standing before members of the group, including two who took part in the rescue, Cameron announced that she was awarding a $1.5 million grant to fund a new MRA “cabin,” as the headquarters is known.
“There was not a dry eye in the room,” said Doug Paley, MRA president.
An MRA press release issued Wednesday says the plane took off from Sardy Field amid a snow squall. Communication with the aircraft was lost soon after, and a search was initiated.
Ground crews, helicopters and other aircraft were deployed to canvass a large search area, as rescuers had few clues where the plane was.
“It’s an amazing story,” Paley said.
The morning after the crash, a friend of Cameron’s brother began following a creek downstream in an effort to walk out.
“He had no success and spent that night out in frigid conditions, and then continued on the next day and was spotted that afternoon,” Cameron said in the press release. “He was able to help direct the helicopters toward the crash site.”
Meanwhile, another person in the party also began walking out and was spotted in a clearing by a helicopter team.
“It was quite a rescue,” Cameron said in the release. “Once they found us, the helicopter had nowhere to land, and the entire recovery operation was carried out raising and lowering people and equipment on a cable.”
Cameron, her mother, brother and the pilot were brought out, as was “my father’s body,” the release says. “My father’s name was CB Cameron, and [he] was the only one to perish in the crash.”
The new facility will be named for CB Cameron.
Paley said he was impressed by Lynda Cameron’s sensitivity when she spoke to MRA members.
“She was very cautious about what people in that room have gone through,” he said. “In the rescue world, there are a lot of very emotional rescues. They’re dealing not just with rescues but the families” of victims.
For her part, Cameron said in the release that she hopes “to be an ambassador for all those who did not have the chance to thank Mountain Rescue Aspen themselves.”
The grant has been in the works for some time, as have MRA’s plans for a new rescue cabin. The group, founded in 1966, has outgrown its current environs. The cabin is seeing more volunteers, and subsequently is conducting more training, and also has more equipment and vehicles than ever before. A recent meeting was standing-room only.
Paley said the decision-making process about whether MRA will remain in its present spot has just begun.
“We’re exploring that option,” he said of staying on Main Street. “If we can make it work, that would be ideal.”
The all-volunteer, 50-member MRA is an arm of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Joe DiSalvo shared Cameron’s news with the Pitkin County commissioners at their meeting Wednesday evening.
The officials applauded the news, and Commissioner Rachel Richards said the board and sheriff’s office should draft a thank-you letter to the Cameron family.
Victims and their family members have made donations before — the current cabin was paid for in that fashion — but Paley said Cameron’s announcement was still remarkable.
“The team was just in awe,” he said. “They were so amazed.”
Aircraft: CESSNA 414, registration: N1682T
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-4211 77/11/27 NR.ASPEN,CO CESSNA 414 CR- 0 1 0 NONCOMMERCIAL AIRLINE TRANSPORT, AGE
TIME - 1730 N1682T PX- 1 5 0 PLEASURE/PERSONAL TRANSP 29, 1820 TOTAL HOURS, 220
DAMAGE-DESTROYED OT- 0 0 0 IN TYPE, INSTRUMENT
RATED.
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
ASPEN,CO PUEBLO,CO
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
COLLIDED WITH: FENCE,FENCEPOSTS TAKEOFF: INITIAL CLIMB
COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: CONTROLLED IN FLIGHT: CLIMB TO CRUISE
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PREPARATION AND/OR PLANNING
PILOT IN COMMAND - FAILED TO ABORT TAKEOFF
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - AIRFRAME ICE
PILOT IN COMMAND - IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISIONS OR PLANNING
FACTOR(S)
AIRPORTS/AIRWAYS/FACILITIES - AIRPORT CONDITIONS: SNOW ON RUNWAY
WEATHER - ICING CONDITIONS-INCLUDES SLEET,FREEZING RAIN,ETC.
WEATHER - DOWNDRAFT,UPDRAFTS
WEATHER BRIEFING - BRIEFED BY FLIGHT SERVICE PERSONNEL, BY PHONE
WEATHER FORECAST - FORECAST SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT
MISSING AIRCRAFT - LATER RECOVERED
SKY CONDITION CEILING AT ACCIDENT SITE
BROKEN 4000
VISIBILITY AT ACCIDENT SITE PRECIPITATION AT ACCIDENT SITE
5 OR OVER(UNLIMITED) NONE
OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISION AT ACCIDENT SITE TEMPERATURE-F
NONE 34
TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS TYPE OF FLIGHT PLAN
VFR IFR
REMARKS- ICE & SNOW ON WINGS.HIT FENCE,CONTINUED DEPARTURE.CRASHED AT 11800FT MSL.RECOVERED 11/29/77.
No comments:
Post a Comment