Teacher among dead in crash

BURBANK — Students and faculty members at John Burroughs High School are mourning the loss of culinary arts teacher Tania Hurd, 46, who was one of three passengers killed Saturday on a tourist helicopter that crashed on Santa Catalina Island.

The Eurocopter AS 350 Island Express helicopter carrying six passengers crashed at 9:30 a.m. Saturday near Two Harbors on the northwest end of the island, said Terry Williams, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Hurd and two others were killed, and three passengers, including Hurd’s stepson, C.J. Noecker, were critically injured and are being treated at local hospitals.

All of the wreckage has been recovered, and investigators are trying to determine the cause, Williams said.

Hurd, who boarded the plane in Long Beach less than an hour before it crashed, was on her way to meet family members who had arrived on the island the previous evening.

“She was very excited about the helicopter ride,” Principal Emilio Urioste said as he stood in front of candles, cards and pictures of Hurd on the school’s front steps Tuesday. “She had never ridden in one before.”

Her son, Max, 14, and her boyfriend were on the ground when the crash occurred and rushed to help, Urioste said.

Hurd, who came to the school five years ago to restart the culinary program, had spent the previous night chaperoning the prom with best friend and fellow teacher Dena Williams. Williams, who will be teaching Hurd’s classes for the next two weeks, gathered students Tuesday morning to share memories.

“If she knew she was going to go the next morning, she still would have come to the prom,” Williams said. “She would have wanted to surround herself with the people she loved, and that was her students.”

Students wore purple and green, Hurd’s favorite colors, in her honor.

“She was always so happy and vibrant, she wouldn’t have wanted the students to wear black,” Williams said. “She would want them to celebrate the good times.”

Staff members gathered to discuss ways to help students cope. A team of psychologists and counselors were also brought in to offer services.

This year’s graduation ceremony will now include the song “Unforgettable,” by Natalie Cole, Hurd’s favorite song, Urioste said. Students and faculty are also planning to compile a book that will offer remembrances of Hurd for her family.

For student Anthony Doto, 18, Hurd was not just a teacher but a second mom.

“She was always there to listen,” he said. “I told her every morning that I loved her. She was the mother I never had and one of the most amazing women I have ever met.”