Search Continues After A Door And A Body Were Found
Debris from a LifeGuard medevac helicopter and the body of a
flight nurse have been found in Passage Canal near Whittier, Alaska
Saturday afternoon as the search continues for the other three
occupants of the aircraft. The body of flight nurse John Stumpff,
47 of Sterling, Alaska washed up on the shore near the debris,
according to Megan Peters, a spokeswoman with the Alaska State
Troopers.
Crew on an Alaska Air National Guard Pave Hawk helicopter
spotted the debris while searching for the LifeGuard helicopter.
The Pave Hawk then flew closer and confirmed the human remains, and
the left sliding door from the BK-117. The door was the only piece
of the helicopter that was identifiable, according to McHugh
Pierre, spokesman for the state Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs, and the National Guard.
The medevac helicopter from Providence Hospital operated by
Evergreen Helicopters, Inc. went down somewhere along the flight
path on its way to Anchorage from Cordova Monday evening about 40
minutes into a 90-minute flight. The aircraft was reported missing
when it failed to make two regular 10-minute position updates with
a satellite telephone. According to the Associated Press the last
known contact was at 5:18 p.m. on December 3. The remains and
debris was found along the usual flight route, according to
officials.
"That's the flight pattern that people take to go through
Portage Pass" and on into Anchorage, said Pierre.
Also on the aircraft and still missing: pilot Lance Brabham, 42,
of Soldotna; paramedic Cameron Carter, 24, of Kenai and the Butte;
and patient Gaye McDowell, 60, of Cordova.
McDowell was on her way to Providence Alaska Medical Center to
be treated for complications after breast cancer surgery. Families
have been updated and next of kin for Stumpff has been notified,
troopers said.
Troopers weren't ready to give up hope on the three still
missing, but Peters acknowledged that, "it doesn't look
promising."
"Our folks always assume that people are living until we know
otherwise," Pierre said.
Details were sparse and
a press conference will be held late Sunday about the developments
of the search. Peters said that troopers are trying to piece
together what happened and that more information should come out
today.
"This is by no means the end of the search effort. They are
making arrangements and plans to see what needs to be done
tomorrow," Pierre said.
The debris is being turned over to the National Transportation
Safety Board for its investigation into the accident. The search
was hampered early in the week by bad weather. The ceiling lifted
on Saturday giving searchers better visibility, according to
Pierre. Searchers in the Pave Hawk confirmed that they had a body,
return to Whittier and picked up Alaska State Troopers and took
them to the scene.
Stumpff's remains were turned over to the State Medical
Examiner's Office. An Alaska Air National Guard has a C-130 on the
scene along with a Pave Hawk helicopter. Earlier in the week the
U.S. Coast Guard launched the cutter Sycamore, along with local
fishing boats assisted in the search.
The Sycamore returned to Cordova on Friday to refuel. Alaska
State Trooper helicopter "Helo-1," and a Coast Guard Jayhawk
helicopter also searched on Saturday along with volunteer pilots in
the Valdez Civil Air Patrol.
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