Second Alaska Rescue Claims Black Hawk

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As rescuers were struggling to transport survivors of the crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens near Dillingham, a second SAR case cost the U.S. Army one of its Black Hawk helicopters on Tuesday afternoon. The crew was attempting to remove victims stranded on the Knik Glacier since Sunday when a PA-32 with five aboard encountered weather and crashed into a snow bank, injuring two. Some 21 hours later, Air National Guard pararescuemen arrived by ski with supplies and shelter and on Tuesday, three of the five victims were flown out by a Black Hawk. But because of payload restrictions, two were left behind.

A second Black Hawk was landing to retrieve the remaining survivors when it apparently slid and rolled over on the glacier. As of Tuesday night, SAR forces were awaiting a break in the weather to extract the five people still marooned on the glacier.

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