DAY
DAY AND
DAY AND THE RISKS THAT THEY TAKE, BUT ALSO THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR
LIVE FROM IDAHO'S
NEWSCHANNEL SEVEN
THIS IS THE NEWS AT SIX.
GOV. BRAD LITTLE: "I'D
JUST ASK EVERYONE TO
THINK ABOUT EVERYONE
THAT SERVES,
THAT SERVES,
PARTICULARLY THE IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD FOR WHAT THEY DO EVERY
DAY AND THE RISKS THAT
THEY TAKE, BUT ALSO
THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR
NEIGHBORS."
FAMILIES, NEIGHBORS,
FRIENDS AND THE STATE
OF IDAHO -- MOURNING
THE LOSS OF THREE
IDAHO ARMY NATIONAL
GUARD SOLDIERS, KILLED
WHEN THEIR BLACK HAWK
HELICOPTER CRASHED IN
THE MOUNTAINS EAST OF
BOISE...
IN THEIR HONOR, FLAGS
AT THE IDAHO CAPITOL
AND THROUGHOUT THE
STATE ARE FLYING AT
HALF-STAFF...
RIGHT NOW... THERE ARE
STILL A LOT OF QUESTIONS
SURROUNDING WHAT LED
UP TO LAST NIGHT'S
CRASH.
FIRST, WE DON'T YET
KNOW WHO THE PILOTS
WERE...
THEIR NAMES ARE NOT
BEING RELEASED UNTIL
AFTER THE FAMILY
NOTIFICATION PROCESS IS
COMPLETE...
WE DO KNOW THE CRASH
HAPPENED SOUTHEAST OF
LUCKY
LUCKY PEAK... IN AN AREA REFERRED TO AS THREE POINT MOUNTAIN -- IN
THE DANSKIN
MOUNTAINS.
OUR SHIRAH MATSUZAWA
HAS BEEN STAYING ON
TOP OF THIS STORY.
SHE'S HERE NOW WITH
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED...
THE PILOTS KILLED... AND
THE INVESTIGATION INTO
THIS.
SHIRAH.
THIS. SHIRAH. AS OF RIGHT NOW... THE
IDENTITIES OF THOSE
PILOTS HAVE NOT YET
BEEN RELEASED.
BUT WE'RE TOLD... THEY
WERE EXTREMELY
EXPERIENCED.
WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE
LEVELS RANGING FROM 5
TO 15 YEARS.
10:58:32 THE SUDDEN
AND TRAGIC LOSS OF
THREE OF OUR FELLOW
GUARDSMEN IS
EXTREMELY
HEARTBREAKING TO EVERY
MEMBER OF THE IDAHO
NATIONAL GUARD FAMILY
10:58:41
HEARTACHE... AND
SHOCK.. BEING FELT
ACROSS THE NATIONAL
GUARD... THE
COMMUNITY... AND THE
LOVED ONES OF THE
THREE PILOTS KILLED
TUESDAY IN A HELICOPTER
CRASH.
AT APPROXIMATELY 6:50
LAST NIGHT, 3 IDAHO
NATIONAL GUARD
CREWMEMBERS DEPARTED
BOISE IN A U-H-60 BLACK
HAWK HELICOPTER ON A
ROUTINE TRAINING
FLIGHT IN THEIR MAP OF
THE EARTH TRAINING
AREA,
THE CREW CHECKED IN
SEVERAL TIMES. THE LAST
CONTACT HAPPENED
AROUND AT 7:45.
20 MINUTES LATER... THE
NATIONAL GUARD SAYS...
THE AIRFORCE RESCUE
COORDINATION CENTER
IN FLORIDA CONTACTED
THEM... SAYING THEY
WERE RECEIVING AN
ACTIVE EMERGENCY
LOCATOR TRANSMITTER
SIGNAL ASSOCIATED WITH
THE HELICOPTER.
THE NATIONAL GUARD
SAYS... THAT'S WHEN THEY
LAUNCHED EMERGENCY
RESPONSE PLANS AND
STARTED SEARCHING FOR
THE HELICOPTER.
THERE WAS NO MAYDAY,
NO REQUEST FOR AN
EMERGENCY, NO
DECLARATION OF AN
EMERGENCY
AT THAT SAME TIME...
ANOTHER AIRCRAFT WAS
IN THE AREA... AND THEY
TOO TRIED TO LOOK FOR
THE PILOTS.
BUT HAD TO LAND
BECAUSE OF WEATHER
CONDITIONS.
WE DO KNOW FROM THE
AIRCRAFT THAT TRIED TO
LOCATE THEM THAT WAS
OUT AT THE SAME TIME,
THEY TRIED THREE
DIFFERENT TIMES
THROUGH LOW PASSES TO
GET TO THAT AREA BUT
THE FOG, THE CEILING
LAYER COMING DOWN
COMBINED WITH SNOW
MADE IT UNTENABLE FOR
THEM TO BE ABLE TO GET
IN
GROUND CREWS, ALONG
WITH SEARCH AND
RESCUE CREWS FROM
ELMORE COUNTY... AND
PERSONNEL FROM IDAHO
MOUNTAIN SEARCH AND
RESCUE WENT TO THE
LAST KNOWN LOCATION...
UNTIL WEATHER
CONDITIONS IMPROVED ..
AND ANOTHER AIRCRAFT
LAUNCHED TO SEARCH
FOR THE PILOTS.
THEY WERE FOUND
AROUND 12-15
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
SADLY, NO ONE
SURVIVED.
11:12:11 IT LEAVES A
TREMENDOUS
INDESCRIBABLE VOID IN
OUR AVIATION
COMMUNITY. 11:12:19
SCOTT PERKINS IS THE
PUBLIC RELATIONS
DIRECTOR FOR THE IDAHO
MOUNTAIN SEARCH AND
RESCUE UNIT.
HE WAS PART OF THE
GROUND CREW.
MANY OF US HAVE
WORKED WITH THOSE
PILOTS AND FELT A
SPECIAL SENSE OF
RESPONSIBILITY
TO PROVIDE EVERYTHING
WE COULD IN ORDER TO
SEE IF THERE WAS A WAY
TO GET THEM HOME
SAFELY
HE COULDN'T TALK
ABOUT WHAT HE SAW IN
TERMS OF THE CRASH SITE
OR WHAT HAPPENED.
BUT HE WAS ABLE TO
DESCRIBE THE
CONDITIONS THEY FACED.
IT WAS DARK
THE TEMPERATURE HAD
DROPPED WELL BELOW
FREEZING AND WE WERE
GETTING HIGH LEVELS OF
WIND AND BLOWING
SNOW AND THE OTHER
AREA THAT'S
PARTICULARLY
CHALLENGING OUT THERE,
THE GUARD HAS RELEASED
THE GENERAL AREA OF
WHERE THE CRASH SCENE
WAS, SO THERE;S A LOT OF
RELIEF THAT THE HILLS
AND THE MOUNTAIN
SIDES ARE REALLY STEEP
UP THERE SO THERE'S A
LOT OF VARIATION IN THE
AMOUNT OF
ACCUMULATED SNOW IN
THAT AREA
PERKINS ADDS... IT FELT
LIKE THERE WAS A
HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF
URGENCY BECAUSE THESE
WERE THEIR PARTNERS.
HE SAYS IN MANY OF
THEIR SEARCH AND
RESCUE MISSIONS.. ONCE
THEY'VE LOCATED THOSE
MISSING.. THE ONLY WAY
TO GET THOSE
INDIVIDUALS OUT AND TO
SAFETY IS WITH THE HELP
OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
AND THEIR HELICOPTERS
SO TUESDAY'S SEARCH HIT
EXTRA CLOSE TO HOME
3:50:51 PERSONALLY
THERES OBVIOUSLY A
TREMENDOUS SENSE OF
LOSS , NOT JUST AS A
MEMBER OF A SEARCH
AND RESCUE TEAM, BUT
AS AN AMERICAN
AND IT WAS CLEARLY
VERY SAD TO KNOW THAT
SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT
AND IT WAS CLEARLY
VERY SAD TO KNOW THAT
SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT
YOU HAVE DIRECTLY
WORKED WITH IN SERVICE
OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO
HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES
IN EMERGENCY
SITUATIONS IN THE BACK
COUNTRY HAVE FOUND
THEMSELVES IN THAT
SORT OF EMERGENCY AND
WE AS A UNIT WANTED TO
EXPRESS OUR
CONDOLENCES NOT JUST
TO THE FAMILIES OF THE
PILOTS OF COURSE, BUT
ALSO ALL THE OTHER
SERVICE
SERVICE MEMBERS OF THE UNIT 3:51:24 MULTIPLE AGENCIES ARE
WORKING TOGETHER
TODAY TO SECURE THE
CRASH SITE AND RECOVER
THE BODIES OF THOSE
KILLED.
THE NATIONAL GUARD IS
NOT SPECULATING ON
WHAT CAUSED THE
CRASH... BUT OFFICIALS
DO KNOW THERE WAS
BAD WEATHER LAST
NIGHT AND ROUGH
TERRAIN.
THE ARMY AVIATION
SAFETY CENTER WILL LEAD
THE INVESTIGATION -- A
TEAM IS EXPECTED IN