Posted on 06/26/2002 1:23:25 PM PDT by Glutton
ASHFORD, Wash. (AP) - A rescue helicopter carrying three people crashed high on Mount Rainier but no one was hurt, and an injured Pennsylvania climber was later plucked from the mountain.
The Bell Jet Ranger helicopter went down late Tuesday afternoon at the 8,800-foot level of the 14,411-foot peak. It was assisting in an effort to rescue Jesse Whitcomb, 19, who suffered a head injury earlier in the day, said Maria Gillett, a Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman.
Unfazed, the two rescuers on board the downed chopper climbed 400 feet from the crash site to help Whitcomb, of Carroll Valley, Pa. They were among several rescuers involved.
It was unclear what caused the helicopter to go down on the Carbon Glacier, Gillett said.
Whitcomb, climbing with his father Lonnie, and a third person, had been at the 9,400-foot level, ascending Liberty Ridge, when he was struck in the head Tuesday morning by an 18-inch boulder. The rock shattered his helmet and he fell about 100 feet, briefly losing consciousness.
An Army Reserve Chinook helicopter plucked Jesse Whitcomb, his father, their friend and rescuers from the mountain Tuesday night, flying the young man to Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma.
Whitcomb was in stable condition at Madigan on Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The pilot of the helicopter that crashed was flown off the mountain Tuesday evening, Gillett said. He was not immediately identified.
The National Transportation Safety Board was expected to begin investigating the crash.
Three climbers died late last month on Rainier's Liberty Ridge in near-whiteout conditions.
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