Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2007 7:26:30 GMT -6
National Guard Helicopter Crash Injures 9
SAN DIEGO - A California National Guard helicopter ferrying Border Patrol agents crashed near the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, injuring all nine people aboard, authorities said. The aircraft went down before 3:45 p.m.
Five Border Patrol agents and four members of the Guard were aboard the UH-1 helicopter, said Col. Dave Baldwin, director of planning and operations for the California National Guard.
Five people with neck and back injuries were airlifted to hospitals, said Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's Lt. Dave Myers said injuries were described as moderate to major.
The helicopter, one of the older models in use by the Guard, was on a routine mission, Baldwin said, transporting agents either to or from a remote site along the border.
It went down in the Otay Mountain area about 20 miles southeast of downtown San Diego and a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The aircraft came to rest on its belly, its top rotor snapped off and what appeared to be its tail thrust to its side.
A National Guard accident investigation team was en route to the site.
Authorities wouldn't speculate on the cause of the crash. Capt. Brennan Blue of the California Department of Forestry, which provided medical response, said there were power lines down near the crash site, "but it's undetermined whether they went down before the crash or after."
The National Weather Service said skies were clear and winds were light, between 6 and 7 mph, although a wind advisory was called for the area's mountains mid-Tuesday.
California National Guard Capt. Mike Morgan said the UH-1 was on a mission for Operation Jumpstart, transporting Border Patrol agents to mountainous areas inaccessible by vehicle.
There have been at least 100 such missions since the operation began in July. It's the first time during the operation in California that an aircraft has crashed, Morgan said.
The flights operate out of Brown Field in San Diego or the Navy base at Coronado in San Diego Bay.
Morgan said the missions are "relatively safe," with weather usually being the major concern.
The operation stems from a plan announced in May 2006 by President Bush to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border for about two years to help local and federal law enforcement to stop illegal immigration.
SAN DIEGO - A California National Guard helicopter ferrying Border Patrol agents crashed near the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, injuring all nine people aboard, authorities said. The aircraft went down before 3:45 p.m.
Five Border Patrol agents and four members of the Guard were aboard the UH-1 helicopter, said Col. Dave Baldwin, director of planning and operations for the California National Guard.
Five people with neck and back injuries were airlifted to hospitals, said Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's Lt. Dave Myers said injuries were described as moderate to major.
The helicopter, one of the older models in use by the Guard, was on a routine mission, Baldwin said, transporting agents either to or from a remote site along the border.
It went down in the Otay Mountain area about 20 miles southeast of downtown San Diego and a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The aircraft came to rest on its belly, its top rotor snapped off and what appeared to be its tail thrust to its side.
A National Guard accident investigation team was en route to the site.
Authorities wouldn't speculate on the cause of the crash. Capt. Brennan Blue of the California Department of Forestry, which provided medical response, said there were power lines down near the crash site, "but it's undetermined whether they went down before the crash or after."
The National Weather Service said skies were clear and winds were light, between 6 and 7 mph, although a wind advisory was called for the area's mountains mid-Tuesday.
California National Guard Capt. Mike Morgan said the UH-1 was on a mission for Operation Jumpstart, transporting Border Patrol agents to mountainous areas inaccessible by vehicle.
There have been at least 100 such missions since the operation began in July. It's the first time during the operation in California that an aircraft has crashed, Morgan said.
The flights operate out of Brown Field in San Diego or the Navy base at Coronado in San Diego Bay.
Morgan said the missions are "relatively safe," with weather usually being the major concern.
The operation stems from a plan announced in May 2006 by President Bush to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border for about two years to help local and federal law enforcement to stop illegal immigration.