Coast Guard IDs Sitka-based crew in fatal helicopter crash
3 KILLED: Two were pilots; it's unknown who was at controls.
By SARA JEAN GREEN
The Seattle Times
Published: July 8th, 2010 09:40 PM
Last Modified: July 9th, 2010 10:31 AM
The four crew members of a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed Wednesday morning in the waters off La Push while flying to their base in Sitka have been identified.
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Coast Guard IDs Sitka-based crew in fatal helicopter crash: Alaska News | adn.com
The helicopter's commander and two air crewmen died when the MH-60 Jayhawk crashed off James Island.
Killed were:
• Lt. Sean D. Krueger, 33, of Seymour, Conn., the aircraft commander and a married father of three.
• Adam C. Hoke, 40, of Great Falls, Mont., who was an aviation maintenance technician first class. He was single with one child.
• Brett M. Banks, 33, Green River, Wyo., an aviation maintenance technician second class, a married father of two with a third child due in September.
The helicopter's co-pilot, Lt. Lance D. Leone, 29, of Ventura, Calif., survived the crash. He is married and has no children.
Both Krueger and Leone "are pilots, but we don't know which one was flying at the time" of the crash, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Nathan Bradshaw.
Leone was rescued by members of the Quileute Nation who raced to the scene in fishing boats immediately after the crash. Leone was later airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition Thursday, said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson.
"His family is with him and they're just focusing on him recovering," she said.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard corrected information released Wednesday: Another helicopter crew flew the Jayhawk from Elizabeth City, N.C., to Astoria, Ore., after it had been retrofitted with new equipment, Bradshaw said. The crew from Sitka then picked the helicopter up in Astoria for the return flight to their home base, he said.
The Coast Guard had previously said the Sitka crew had flown the helicopter across the country from Elizabeth City.
"It had features the previous aircraft did not have but I don't know if it was remodeled or if it was new," Bradshaw said. "It was an updated version and was being transferred to Sitka and was going to be their new model."
The four-man crew left Astoria Wednesday morning. At 9:30 a.m., they failed to radio their location, which they are required to do every 15 minutes, Cmdr. Mark McCadden said Wednesday afternoon.
People who witnessed the crash have said the helicopter appeared to hit a power cable that stretches from La Push to James Island. McCadden confirmed Wednesday that the power line was knocked down but said it was too early in the investigation to determine what role it played in the crash.
The helicopter's flight data recorder has been recovered and the Coast Guard is now working to salvage the wreckage as part of its ongoing crash investigation, Bradshaw said.