Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- A federal investigator suspects poor weather factored into helicopter crash Tuesday that a 14-year-old boy survived but that killed the pilot and three state employees, including the boy's stepfather.

The Era Helicopters Euroscopter AS350 B2 Astar went down about a mile off the Glenn Highway near Sheep Mountain.

The weather Tuesday in the general area was "pretty bad" with snow squalls and low visibility, based on eyewitness reports, said National Transportation Safety Board investigator Larry Lewis.

Lewis on Thursday said his investigation is just beginning and weather is just one factor he'll review. He expects to release a preliminary report next week but a more comprehensive final report is months away.

At this point, Lewis said, nothing indicates that Era pilot Benoit Pin, 30, of Anchorage erred in deciding to fly that morning. Lewis said he will review Era's operations manual for policies on weather briefings and making a "go/no-go" decision.

Era Helicopters is not commenting beyond a statement issued Wednesday expressing condolences to the victims' families.

The crash occurred during a routine state-chartered trip by maintenance technicians to telecommunications towers along the Glenn Highway.

The helicopter left Anchorage about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and had apparently just left a tower in Tahneta Pass, Lewis said. The time of the crash remains unclear: Rescuers picked up an emergency beacon around noon, but satellite transmission can delay such signals by two to three hours, the investigator said.

After the crash, the Astar came to rest about a third of the way down a hill, perched on a stand of willows and surrounded by deep snow, Lewis said.

A medic found survivor Quinn Ellington roughly 200 feet downhill from the crash site, he said. The boy, out in frigid weather for at least 20 hours, waded through sugary, waist-deep snow to a creek bed.

"That's what the medic told me," Lewis said. "He said he was pretty incoherent and very, very cold and hypothermic."

THE MOST PROTECTED SEAT

The body of one passenger lay just downhill from the helicopter, with Pin and two other passengers still inside, the investigator said.

Killed in the crash were Thomas E. Middleton, 46, of Anchorage; Joseph C. O'Donnell, 47, of Girdwood; and Ellington's stepfather, Michael D. Seward, 37, of Palmer.

Ellington, a student at Colony Middle School, was probably sitting in the left rear seat, the most protected seat given the way the helicopter crashed, Lewis said.

Ellington's condition is improving, he said. The boy was at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Wednesday evening. The hospital offered no information on his condition.

The men killed in the crash all worked at the state Department of Administration Enterprise Technology Systems. The helicopter dropped off a fourth state employee, identified by the department as Darrell Bowman, at a tower. He notified officials when Pin didn't return to pick him up, Lewis said.

Bowman spent the night in a provisioned shelter and was picked up Wednesday morning, the department said.

Department officials said counselors were at the Anchorage office to talk with grieving employees. A memorial service has not been set.

WHY WAS BOY ON TRIP?

Typically, the state does not allow nonemployees on state-chartered jobs, so the boy's presence on the trip will be investigated, said Rachael Petro, deputy commissioner of the Administration Department.

"Right now we are mostly praying for Quinn's recovery and trying to support the families and the employees," Petro said. "But that is a big question. Obviously lots of people are asking that. We are looking into it."

An autopsy and toxicology tests are scheduled for Pin's body, standard procedure in such an incident, said Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Lewis will also weigh the possibility of mechanical failure. Representatives from the engine and airframe manufacturers, both based in Texas, are en route to Alaska.

Lewis plans to review images from Federal Aviation Administration remote weather cameras, including one at Tahneta Pass. He'll analyze the pilot's route, as indicated by satellite tracking devices to be recovered from the helicopter.

Lewis said he hopes to interview Ellington in the next few days.

"I'll give him some time to get a little better," he said. "It's not unusual for folks who have been through this kind of trauma to just not remember it. We'll give him a little time."

Find Zaz Hollander at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call her in Wasilla at 907-352-6711.

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