THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 10, 1996 TAG: 9606100045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 45 lines
What killed Beverly Johnson?
At first blush, it seems no mystery. The Bell helicopter that carried Johnson and four others crashed in a snowstorm in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada on April 3, 1994.
Four people were killed: Johnson, Disney Co. President Frank Wells, the pilot and a ski guide. The sole survivor was Johnson's husband, filmmaker Mike Hoover.
Investigators studied the crash for a year. They ruled in July 1995 that snow in the engine caused a flameout, or loss of power, which caused the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board also found that the helicopter could have coasted to a safe landing without the engine if it had been flying lower or was lighter. With passengers, crew and equipment, the helicopter weighed 2,940 pounds. At that weight, it could have coasted to a safe landing at 2,500 feet, the board found. But the copter was flying almost three times higher, at 7,100 feet.
If there is a trial over the crash, the main issue probably will be who is responsible for the snow in the engine.
Hoover, the sole survivor, told investigators that the pilot did not cover the engine while the copter waited on the ground for two hours during the snowstorm. He said the pilot did not expect to be there that long. Hoover also said he did not see the pilot clean out the engine intakes before taking off.
The safety board cited five factors in the crash: adverse weather conditions, lack of snow covers for the engine intakes while waiting on the ground, improper planning and decision-making by the pilot and operator, inadequate information in the flight manual, and lack of suitable terrain for landing.
Norfolk lawyer Thomas Harlan has sued the helicopter manufacturer and operator for negligence, on behalf of Johnson's parents. That lawsuit and four others are pending in federal court in Reno, Nev. MEMO: [For a related story, see page B1 of The Virginian-Pilot for this
date.]
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT HELICOPTER LAWSUIT by CNB