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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Deal reached in copter crash

Nine died on firefighting flight

Associated Press

PORTLAND – The families of seven men killed and three injured in the 2008 crash of a firefighting helicopter in Northern California have reached a tentative settlement with three parties in the complex litigation that followed the crash.

The proposed settlements in the Aug. 5, 2008, crash of the Sikorsky S-61 helicopter in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest came this week in mediation presided over by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edward Levy.

Robert Hopkins, a lawyer for four families, said the amounts of the settlements with Carson Helicopters, Columbia Helicopters and the U.S. Forest Service were still being finalized.

At least two lawsuits had sought $10 million for each victim.

The crash killed nine men, including seven contract firefighters with Grayback Forestry of Merlin, Ore. Four of the 13 people aboard survived with various injuries.

An initial investigation found that the chopper’s main rotor lost power during takeoff. The helicopter hit trees after losing power and fell out of the air over the forest, according to a preliminary crash report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft came to rest on its left side before bursting into flames, the report said.

Killed were pilot Roark Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine, Ore.; Jim Ramage, 63, a Forest Service employee from Redding, Calif.; Shawn Blazer, 30, of Medford, Ore.; Scott Charlson, 25, of Phoenix, Ore.; Matthew Hammer, 23, of Grants Pass, Ore.; Edrik Gomez, 19, of Ashland, Ore.; Bryan Rich, 29, of Medford; David Steele, 19, of Ashland; and Steven “Caleb” Renno, 21, of Cave Junction, Ore.

Injured were William Coultas, now 45, of Cave Junction; Richard Schroeder Jr., 44, of Medford; Jonathan Frohreich, of Medford; and Michael Brown, of Rogue River, Ore.