Alaskan pilot and son live to tell the tale after Yellowstone crash
When he flew out of Cody’s Yellowstone Regional Airport on Friday evening, Jim Betzold had no reason to think the flight was going to be any different than the countless others he’d flown over the past 35 years.
“We were doing fine coming out of Cody,” Betzold, 61, recounted in a Monday interview. “We got up to altitude and were getting ready to go through the pass (Sylvan Pass), and then the engine lost power.”
The pilot checked through his emergency procedures in an effort to get the Piper 180’s single engine going at full power again, but nothing worked.
“We were dropping into a canyon” — the Middle Creek drainage of the Shoshone River — “too much to turn around and we didn’t have any room, so I had to fly straight into the trees,” Betzold said.
While that sounds suicidal, he was following a lesson he’d been taught for the small plane: “straight ahead and under control. Land it wherever you have to.”
“I didn’t ever really want to try it, but I had to,” Betzold said of heading into the mix of pine trees. He said trying a landing on the curvy U.S. Highway 14-16-20 could have proven treacherous and attempting to turn could have started a deadly spiral.
It all happened quickly.
There was enough time for Betzold to share an expletive with his passenger and son, Douglas Betzold, but the two had an opportunity for little else before the craft was going down.
“Things are happening so fast you don’t really have time to get scared,” Betzold said.
The plane shredded in the tall trees, with pieces scattered over a couple hundred yards. Jim Betzold’s body also took a beating as the craft fell to a halt: He broke two ribs and his nose, fractured his spine, cut up his knees and bruised his head.
“At least I’m not taking a dirt nap,” a sore Jim Betzold laughed on Monday. Douglas Betzold, 25, escaped with cuts and bruises.
They were back on the ground at around 4:30 p.m. Friday, but the two men weren’t out of the woods yet.
They had no cell phone coverage in the wilds of Yellowstone, the plane’s radio wasn’t working and a handheld radio on-hand for emergencies failed to reach anyone, Jim Betzold said. The plane’s emergency beacon was picked up by a commercial airliner, he said, but something didn’t work right and the location was off by 50 miles.
“I knew we were going to have to stay the night, because we were hurting pretty bad, bleeding pretty good,” Betzold.
Using their emergency supplies, they built a fire, got some water and took some Tylenol to make it through the night.
Meanwhile, Sharon Betzold, Jim’s wife who was back in Alaska, learned the two men hadn’t made it to their destination in the Boise, Idaho, area.
“From my side of things, when I realized Jim and Douglas were ‘missing’, it was a very long night,” she said in an email.
The Park County Sheriff’s Office learned of the overdue aircraft around midnight Saturday. A search for the plane began at first light. A Park County Search and Rescue airplane ended up using the emergency beacon to locate Betzold’s plane around 9 a.m. Saturday, said Lance Mathess, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
A joint rescue operation was then launched with ground units from the National Park Service in Yellowstone and the county’s Search and Rescue team. As the crews were making their way to the crash site — a little less than a mile south of U.S. Highway 14-16-20 — they encountered the Betzolds walking out, Mathess said.
Douglas and Jim Betzold heard traffic on the highway Friday evening and had begun making their way — slowly, due to Jim’s injuries and the rugged terrain — towards the road as soon as daylight allowed, Jim Betzold said.
Upon meeting up with the rescue crews, the Betzolds were then treated by crews from West Park Hospital and taken by ambulance to the Cody medical facility.
Betzold praised the work of the medical and Search and Rescue crews, who he described as helpful, concerned and accommodating.
“Real good people,” he said.
Sharon Betzold also passed along her thanks to those involved in the search, including Park County Search and Rescue Commander Mart Knapp, Mike Pape with Idaho Division of Aeronautics and “Jay” at the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.
“When Mr. Pape called the morning of Saturday, October 12, and said ‘I have some good news!’ that was all I needed to hear,” she said.
Deputy Chief Ranger Nick Herring of Yellowstone National Park praised the professionalism, expertise and quick work of the crews from Search and Rescue and the Park Service.
“We have a great dedicated group with Park County (Search and Rescue),” said Park County Sheriff Scott Steward in a post on Facebook. “Outstanding job and thanks for all you do to help our citizens and those who visit our awesome area.”
The crash investigation has been turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, Mathess said.
Betzold, for his part, has no idea what went wrong with his plane, which he carefully maintained for roughly 20 years. He said the craft performed flawlessly coming down through Canada on the trip.
“Everything’s that way: it works real good until it breaks,” he said.
He expects the plane is a total loss and does not know what will happen to the remains, located inside Yellowstone National Park’s boundary.
Betzold, whose home of Beluga is reachable only by plane, intends to resume flying.
“If I had the plane, I’d fly it today,” he said Monday. “I’ll definitely get another airplane as soon as I can.”
http://www.powelltribune.com
UPDATE: CODY - Two men walked away from a plane crash early Saturday morning in Yellowstone National Park.
The fixed wing, single-engine aircraft left Cody late Friday afternoon for Boise, Idaho.
A call of the plane being overdue came to the Park County Sheriff's Office shortly after midnight. The Search and Rescue Unit began looking for the plane early Saturday morning.
Shortly before 9 a.m., crews located the plane.
The location of the downed aircraft was on just inside the eastern Boundary of Yellowstone National Park.
James and Douglas Betzhold were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and their condition is unknown at this time.
The exact cause of the crash is under investigation.
CODY - A downed single engine aircraft has been located by the Park County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Unit inside Yellowstone National Park.
The downed plane was located southeast of Sylvain Pass in the Middle creek drainage.
The aircraft departed from Yellowstone Regional Airport on Friday, Oct. 11 at 4:00 p.m. carrying two passengers.
The final destination was Boise, Idaho. A call for the aircraft being overdue came into Park County 911 Communications Center shortly after midnight. Search and rescue crews were able to locate the plane, shortly before 9:00 a.m.
Both passengers survived the crash.
http://www.ktvq.com
Two Alaskan men were able to walk away after their single-engine
aircraft crashed Friday inside Yellowstone National Park, southeast of
Sylvan Pass in the Middle Creek drainage.
Pilot James Betzhold, 61, and his Douglas Betzhold, 25, crashed
shortly after a 4 p.m. take off from Cody’s Yellowstone Regional
Airport, said a news release from Park County Sheriff’s Office spokesman
Lance Mathess.
The Betzholds — Beluga, Ala., residents who had refueled in Cody
while en route to Boise, Ida. — were reported as overdue shortly after
midnight today (Saturday).
A search for the fixed-wing Piper 180 aircraft began at Saturday’s
first light. A Park County Search and Rescue aircraft, using the downed
plane’s emergency location transmitter, found the crash site shortly
before 9 a.m., Mathess said.
The aircraft crashed about 1,500 yards south of U.S. Highway 14-16-20
West, just inside Yellowstone’s eastern boundary, Mathess said. A joint
rescue operation made up of ground units from the National Park Service
and Park County Search and Rescue found both Betzholds walking out
under their own power while making their way to the site, Mathess said.
James Betzhold was treated at the scene for possibly fractured ribs, a
fractured nose and minor cuts, Mathess said, while Douglas Betzhold
reportedly had various scrapes and bruises.
Both men were taken by ambulance to West Park Hospital in Cody.
Park County Search and Rescue Commander Mart Knapp praised both men
for their decision to stay with the downed plane until help arrived.
“Many times, people survive catastrophic incidents in the back
country, only to succumb to the elements when they try to make their own
way out,” said Knapp. “Their decision to wait for help quite possibly
saved their lives.”
Deputy Chief Ranger Nick Herring of Yellowstone National Park echoed
Commander Knapp’s assessment. Ranger Herring also had high praise for
the “professionalism and expertise” of the unified rescue operation.
“They were able to quickly locate the aircraft and bring this
incident to a successful conclusion,” Herring said. “We are very
fortunate to have these life-saving resources at our disposal.”
The exact cause of the crash is as yet undetermined, Mathess said.
The investigation has been turned over to the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
http://www.powelltribune.com
Two men from Alaska walked away from the crash of their fixed-wing,
single-engine Piper 180 aircraft early Saturday morning just inside the
eastern boundary of Yellowstone Park southeast of Sylvan Pass in the
Middle Creek drainage.
James Betzhold, 61, and his son Douglas Betzhold, 25, both of Beluga,
Alaska, were in route to Boise, Idaho, and had just taken off from
Yellowstone Regional Airport about 4 p.m. Friday after a refueling stop
when the crash occurred.
The first call of the aircraft being overdue came to the Park County
Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center shortly after midnight. Park
County Search and Rescue was notified and a search for the aircraft
began at first light this morning. Search crews were able to approximate
the location of the plane through the use of its emergency location
transmitter. A S&R aircraft located it shortly before 9 a.m. Once
over the scene, a “mayday” was broadcast by the pilot of the downed
aircraft confirming that both occupants had survived.
A joint rescue operation began which included ground units from
Yellowstone Park and the S&R. The location of the crash was more
than 1,500 yards south of US 14-16-20. As rescue crews began making
their way to the site of the crash, both victims walked out on their
own. James was treated at the scene for possible fractured ribs, a
fractured nose and minor lacerations. Douglas was treated for various
scrapes and bruises. Both were transported to West Park Hospital by
ambulance where their condition is unknown at this time.
S&R commander Martin Knapp praised both men for their decision to stay with the downed plane until help arrived.
“Many times, people survive catastrophic incidents in the back
country, only to succumb to the elements when they try to make their own
way out,” Knapp said. “Their decision to wait for help quite possibly
saved their lives.”
YNP Deputy Chief Ranger Nick Herring echoed that assessment and also praised the unified rescue operation.
“They were able to quickly locate the aircraft and bring this
incident to a successful conclusion,” Herring said. “We are very
fortunate to have these life-saving resources at our disposal.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The investigation
has been turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and
Federal Aviation Administration.
http://www.codyenterprise.com
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