WEAVERVILLE, CALIF. -- — The nine people unaccounted for in the Trinity County helicopter crash were confirmed dead Thursday by authorities who painted a picture of a horrific accident in the remote mountains of Northern California.
"Two survivors escaped the aircraft, and when they were able to get out of the aircraft, they were on fire," said Kitty Higgins, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. "The third escaped under his own power and did go back in to rescue and pull out the fourth survivor."
Higgins said that about 30 firefighters and support personnel watched as the helicopter with 13 occupants and a full tank of fuel took off from a remote "helispot" at about 6,000 feet elevation at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, traveled about 150 yards and crashed, bursting into flames.
The bodies and wreckage of the Sikorsky S-61, operated by Carson Helicopters, remain at the site.
At an afternoon news conference here, about 35 miles from the crash site, Trinity County Undersheriff Eric Palmer described a confused and difficult aftermath that stretched for hours.
About a half hour after the crash, the U.S. Forest Service called the Sheriff's Department to report the accident, initially saying that 16 people were on board and none had died. "This information later turned out to be inaccurate," Palmer said.
About six hours later, the fire service command team for the Iron Complex fire called, he said, and reported that nine people were unaccounted for. Sheriff's personnel did not get to the site until 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
A federal investigation into the cause of the crash began Thursday, with members of the safety board, Forest Service and Federal Aviation Administration meeting in the morning, along with representatives from Carson Helicopters, Sikorsky Helicopters and General Electric, which manufactured the aircraft's engine.
Higgins said that investigators would look for the helicopter's voice data recorder, but she said she could not guarantee its usefulness because of the extensive fire damage.
One of the survivors, Michael Brown, 20, of Medford, Ore., said in a telephone interview Thursday from his hospital bed in Sacramento that his crew was pulling out of the area at the time of the crash because a lightning storm was fast approaching.
"All I can remember is lining up with my bag in one hand and my chain saw in the other," Brown said, noting that he climbed into the helicopter and took a seat behind the pilot. He believes his spot on the aircraft may have saved his life because the pilot also survived.
