CG: Tangled hoist led to 2008 Dolphin crash

[unhappycamper]

CG: Tangled hoist led to 2008 Dolphin crash
By Susan Schept - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 11, 2009 17:49:49 EST

A helicopter crash that killed a four-member Coast Guard aircrew last year was caused when a tangled rescue hoist snapped and damaged the rotor blades, according to a report released Friday.

The aircrew managed to right the helicopter but did not realize that the helicopter was too damaged to return to land the night of Sept. 4, 2008, according to investigators.

The Dolphin HH-65 crashed into the Pacific Ocean six miles south of Honolulu International Airport. The service members killed that night were Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, Aviation Survival Technician 1st Class David Skimin and Aviation Maintenance Technician 1st Class Joshua Nichols. Nelson, the pilot, was the executive officer at Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.

Rear Adm. Manson Brown, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District based in Honolulu, visited and called family members of the crash victims this week to discuss the results of the investigation. He held a news conference Friday at Barbers Point.

“The investigations found no misconduct by any personnel,” Brown said at the conference. “The crews on both platforms acted with the utmost professionalism under the extreme circumstances.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/coastguard_crash_rpt_121109w/