Stephen Stein, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, speaks during a press conference on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, concerning the helicopter crash in Harrison County on Monday. Stein said his team arrived Tuesday morning to begin their on scene investigation and to gather perishable information.
A pilot from Blanchard, Okla., and a U.S. Forest Service worker from Wiggins were unable to get out of a crashed helicopter after it caught fire in the De Soto National Forest, but another forest worker managed to get out and survive, authorities said,
The pilot killed in Monday's crash in the Success community in north Harrison County has been identified as Brandon Ricks, 40, of Blanchard, Okla. The U.S. Forest Service worker killed was Steven W. Cobb, 55, of Wiggins.
Harrison County coroner Gary Hargrove said both were found inside the Bell 206 L1 helicopter after the crash was reported about a mile from Airey Town Road at 2:57 p.m.
Autopsies show Ricks died of smoke inhalation and Cobb of blunt force trauma, Hargrove said.
Authorities said the helicopter is owned by T&M Aviation of Oklahoma.
The details were released Tuesday in a press conference at the Mississippi Highway Patrol complex in Biloxi.
The survivor's name has not been released.
Hargrove said the man underwent surgery Monday night at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile. His condition was downgraded from critical to serious but authorities have not been able to talk with him yet.
The helicopter crashed along a 30-foot path and hit a number of trees, said Stephen Stein, air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. The crash site is east of Mississippi 67 and U.S. 49.
The wreckage will likely be removed Wednesday outside the view of the media and the public.
Officials have said the pilot and forest workers had been monitoring a controlled burn of about 800 acres along the Harrison and Stone county lines.
Stein said the helicopter had taken off from the Wiggins Airport. It is unclear if the pilot was communicating with anyone before the crash.
A NTSB team arrived at the crash site Tuesday along with team members from the Federal Aviation Administration, inspectors, aircraft engineers and manufacturers' representatives, he said.
The team will gather and document the scene with photographs before turning over the wreckage to a secure facility for further investigation, Stein said.
Part of the initial investigation includes questioning witnesses. Stein said the Forest Service and Harrison County Fire Service have been helpful with that, as well as other aspects.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov or (202) 314-6000.
"Once the wreckage has been recovered, we will begin to investigate the man, the machine and the environment," Stein said.
Investigators will compile information about the pilot, his training and flight proficiency, and they'll examine the aircraft, its component history and maintenance records. Stein said the probe also will consider lighting and weather conditions, environmental factors and archived radar data.
A preliminary report with initial findings will be available on the NTSB website within five to 10 business days.
Stein said it could take up to 12 months to complete the investigation. About 60 days later, the NTSB board will release a brief report and probable-cause report.
"During the course of the investigation, if we find any systematic deficiencies at all concerning the man, the machine or the environment, the board will move to issue a safety recommendation … designed to prevent future similar accidents," Stein said. "Safety is our primary mission."
He said the helicopter was built in 1980.
"On behalf of the NTSB, I'd like to offer deepest sympathies and most sincere condolences to the families and friends of those involved in the accident," Stein said.
Mario Rossilli, Forest Service public affairs spokesman, said members of the state agency feel the loss.
"It has hit a lot of us really right here," he said, placing his hand over his heart. "We're coping."
Greta Boley, Forest Service national director for Mississippi, said the agency appreciates a show of concern and prayers from across the nation and in South Mississippi
"We are hurting right now," Boley said.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com
WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi
HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - We now know the names of the victims in that fatal helicopter crash that claimed two lives in Harrison County Monday.
Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said the pilot, Brandon Ricks, 40, of Oklahoma died of smoke inhalation. The other man killed in the crash, Steven W. Cobb, 55, of Wiggins died of multiple blunt force trauma.
Hargrove said Cobb worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Ricks worked for T & M Aviation out of Oklahoma.
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and representatives from the helicopter company that crashed in the Desoto National Forest are all in Harrison County. They're digging through the wreckage, learning as much as they can about the Monday afternoon helicopter crash that killed two people.
Harrison County Fire Marshal Pat Sullivan is assisting the investigators with their initial assessments. "It's a thorough, long-term investigation to look at all factors and interview everybody who may have information," Chief Sullivan told WLOX News.
The helicopter was assisting with a prescribed burn near the Harrison County/Stone County line when it suddenly crashed into a wooded area off Highway 67. Nearby witnesses said right before the crash, they heard the helicopter overhead, and it sounded like it was having engine troubles.
Rescue crews rushed one victim to an ambulance, and then to a Life Flight helicopter. At last check, that person was in serious condition at USA Medical Center in Mobile, Alabama.
SAUCIER -- Two people are dead and one is severely injured after a U.S. Forest Service helicopter crashed Monday near the intersection of Airey Tower and Martha Redmond roads.
Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan confirmed two of the helicopter's occupants died in the crash, and authorities are still working to remove their bodies from the wreckage.
"We received a call at 2:57, I believe," Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said. "And the call that we received of course was that a helicopter was down."
The crash site is roughly a mile southwest of Airey Tower and Martha Redmond roads.
Sullivan said he believes the aircraft was a contract helicopter being used by forestry personnel to monitor a control burn in the area.
"There were crews on the scene immediately," he said. "These guys who work forestry are professionals. They train in first aid, they train for eventualities like this, so from that standpoint, that's an asset to the person that was injured."
He said the sole survivor of the crash suffered severe trauma and was taken by helicopter to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile.
Eddie Baggett, prescribed fire specialist for the Forest Service, said the three on the helicopter were contract workers.
"We lost radio contact and somebody called me on the radio and said we may have an incident," Baggett said. "Usually, I'm talking to them all the time. We've got an ambulance on the way."
Baggett lost contact with the crew shortly before 3 p.m.
A LifeFlight medevac helicopter arrived near the scene about 4 p.m. and landed in a clearing just off Martha Redmond Road. EMT units with American Medical Response were seen transporting one of the victims into the helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be leading the investigation, Sullivan said.
The controlled burn today involved 800 acres right at the Harrison and Stone county lines.
Story, comments, photo gallery and video: http://www.sunherald.com
No comments:
Post a Comment