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Arriving on the crash site on TFJ. You can just see the plane in the background. It was snowing all day, and the
weather was heading downhill in a hurry, so we took a bunch of photos for
the NTSB and sheriff and got out of there. Snowmobiles could only get
a few miles in.
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The plane appears to have crashed in an almost vertical orientation
with tremendous force. The tail section then fell backwards to its
current position. This is very near the climber's trail on TFJ.
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The next day was clear enough for the 1042nd to come in, so we set
up an LZ at Hoodoo Ski Area. The 1042nd generously provided support
with two Blackhawks and some very helpful personnel.
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The 10 person recovery team was a combination of Corvallis Mtn Rescue, Linn
County Sheriff Deputies, Camp Sherman, and 1042nd medics. Here is Hwy 20
and only a very small portion of the recent B and B complex burn from the air
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What took us all day to approach on skis the day before required
about 1 minute to cover with the helicopter.
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Approaching the crash site, Three Fingered Jack in view.
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We established a LZ on the south ridge of TFJ were we could set down
gently w/o doing a bunch of hoists with the JP.
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The second Blackhawk provided gear transport, lowering stokes litters
containing gear to our team.
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Here is the crash site in relation to the mountain. The start of
the climbing route is on the right horizon.
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The wings needed to be cut away with a reciprocating saw to access
the cabin. It appears the impact was immense, as the cabin seats were
ripped off the airframe and no longer held the occupants. There was
some concern about the smell of av. gas, but the tanks were empty,
and it was not strong.
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Once we removed the 3 occupants, we did a long lower down to the
base of the mountain, basically to the PCT. We repackaged into stokes
litters and brought them into the helicopter in a series of hoist
evolutions. The rest of the personnel were brought out from the
upper LZ.
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Santiam Pass and Black Butte from the air. As you can see, the
weather was starting to deteriorate again. You can see a bit of the
B and B complex burn here again.
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Returning to Hoodoo.
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The second Blackhawk arrives to unload its cargo.
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