VENTURA : Pilot, Teacher Hike to Safety After Crash
An Arkansas helicopter pilot and his Ventura flight instructor are safe after an 11-hour ordeal that began when their aircraft crashed in a snowy mountain area of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Police said Monday.
Search and rescue personnel helped Ketil Ness of Ventura and Bob Stewart of Mountain Home, Ark., hike 2 1/2 miles out of a heavily wooded area in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque.
Maj. Roger Payne, a spokesman for the state police, said the crash occurred Saturday afternoon shortly after the helicopter fueled up at Coronado Airport in northeast Albuquerque. The helicopter reportedly was en route to Arkansas from Phoenix.
Payne said the two men contacted authorities by portable radio and built a shelter and fire to keep warm. Authorities pinpointed the crash location and dropped a search and rescue team member and paramedic.
He said rescuers gave the crash victims dry clothes, then led them back to safety that night.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash.
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