No Search For Helicopter Until Spring

Any attempts to recover a helicopter that crashed into Crater Lake won’t begin until next year.

The park service has decided to wait until good weather next spring or summer, rather than risk an accident during winter weather, Hendricks

“We are out of the good weather period for this year,” said Crater Lake National Park Superintendent Al Hendricks.

The owner of the helicopter, American Eurocopter of Grand Prairie, Texas, is preparing a proposal for raising the wreckage, which is believed to be in 1,500 feet of water, Hendricks said. The park service will review the proposal and decide whether to go ahead.

With no strong currents in the lake, the wreckage is unlikely to move.

An Aerospatiale AS359, also known as an A-STAR, was flying from Seattle to Las Vegas last month when it crashed into Crater Lake with the pilot and a passenger on board.

Killed in the crash were pilot George W. Causey, 52, of Enumclaw, Wash., and passenger Edward Tulleners Jr., 45, of West Linn, Ore. The bodies have not been recovered.