The Alaska Department of Public Safety Public Information Office has released a statement providing further details on the fatal crash of an Alaska State Troopers helicopter on March 30.
According to the statement, the Alaska State Troopers were called upon that evening to rescue an injured snowmachiner near Larsen Lake, located approximately 10 miles east of Talkeetna. The information we were given was a snowmachiner, traveling by himself, had crashed and reportedly suffered broken ribs. He also indicated that he could not get out on his own and had inadequate gear to spend the night in the wilderness.
Given the circumstances, Helo-1 was approved to perform a search and rescue mission. Alaska State Trooper Pilot Mel Nading departed from Anchorage and traveled to Talkeetna to pick up Trooper Tage Toll of the Talkeetna Alaska State Trooper Post. At approximately 2200 hours, radio communication with Helo-1 indicated that they had located the injured snowmachiner, tentatively identified as 56-year old Talkeetna resident Carl Ober. It was requested that a ground ambulance be waiting at the Sunshine Tesoro in Talkeetna to meet up with Helo-1 to transport Ober to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Helo-1 did not make the rendezvous. A team of two AWT troopers were mobilized to respond to the area by snowmachine and a request was made through the Rescue Coordination Center for the 176th Air wing rescue assets to search the area. The 210th, 211th and 212th rescue squadrons were alerted. Rescue aircraft located the wreckage of Helo-1 near the south end of Larson Lake. Two para rescue jumpers were lowered down to the scene; the two AWT Troopers were on scene shortly after. An assessment of the scene was conducted and it was determined that there were no survivors from the crash of Helo-1.
Due to the condition of Helo-1 and the on scene investigation, the recovery of remains occurred later in the day. Positive identification of the remains is ongoing.
At this point Alaska State Troopers will not speculate as to why Helo-1 crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation into the cause and circumstances. “In the meantime, the families of Pilot Mel Nading, Trooper Tage Toll and SAR victim Carl Ober are our top concern,” the statement reads, concluding, “This is a great tragedy and loss for us, the search and rescue community and the State of Alaska. Everyday our people are put in harm’s way and face it head on without a second thought that today they may not come home. They are brave and service-minded individuals and Alaska is much safer because of them.”
