HELICOPTER ON MOOSE RESCUE MISSION CRASHES
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A helicopter on a mission to pluck moose from a
heavily traveled area clipped a steel cable and crashed through a frozen reservoir,
killing three people. The crash caused a brief power outage to about 7,000
customers because the cable anchored power line pylons. The helicopter crashed
just after taking off Thursday afternoon, falling upside down and breaking
through the ice. One of the men who was dropped off jumped into the frigid
waters of the Mountain Dell Reservoir to try to save the victims, but authorities
believe they had been killed on impact.
"We watch for lines, but sometimes, when trying to get the job done,
you just lose sight of them," said Larry Dalton, Division of Wildlife
Resources conservation outreach chief. Mountain Dell is a major source of
drinking water for Salt Lake City and the city's Department of Public Utilities
shut down its water-treatment plant at Mountain Dell to avoid contamination
from leaking fuel. "None of it got into the drinking water supply,"
said LeRoy W. Hooton Jr., director of public utilities. Experts were at the
site sampling water and deciding what kind of cleanup will be necessary. The
accident happened about 10 miles east of Salt Lake City near Interstate 80,
which was briefly shut down after the crash. The helicopter was being used
to transport moose from the Parleys Canyon area, where a half-dozen of the
animals have been hit and killed by vehicles in the past month.
The DWR has transplanted about 25 moose from the heavily traveled area in the last month, and had hoped to move 15 to 20 more on Thursday. However, only four had been moved during the morning due to poor visibility. The chopper was not transporting a moose at the time of the accident. The crew catches the moose by throwing nets over the animals from the air. One member jumps on the animals, blindfolds and hobbles them, then wraps them in large bags. Once a moose is secured, the helicopter hoists it to a staging area where it is loaded onto a trailer for relocation. The Division of Wildlife Resources contracted with Helicopters by Oz, doing business as Helicopter Capture Services, for the work.
The crash killed the pilot, John E. Olson, a passenger who worked for the helicopter company and a third person who was a photographer for the Division of Wildlife Resources. Just before the crash, Olson had dropped off his son, John J. Olson, so he could collect some nets used in capturing the moose. He unsuccessfully tried to rescue his father. "These people were very good at what they do," Dalton said. "The ones who perished were all excellent folks.
HENCH adds: Doesn't three people and a moose (heavy!) plus fuel in a high altitude area sound like a very high load for such a small helicopter?
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