Head In The Clouds

ISSUE

Apr. 2014

09

A USGS Quarterly Aviation Safety Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Stuck Atop an Alaskan Mountain Final Approach The Tail End

STRANDED ATOP A VOLCANO AND FINAL APPROACH

We have a very special edition of Head In The Clouds this quarter. So special, that we have lengthened the usual four-page newsletter to five pages so that we could reprint the entire excellent article written by Ned Rozell from the Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). This is the harrowing story of a USGS scientist, a colleague from the Geophysical Institute UAF, and the vendor helicopter pilots ordeal atop the 7,000 ft. volcanic Mount Mageik on the Alaska Peninsula. What started out as a clear day, suddenly, without warning, turned into a socked -in, zero visibility situation with winds just shy of a level 1 hurricane. Severe icing of the helicopter, high winds, and low visibility resulted in a 2- day/2-night survival experience. This story exemplifies how proper training, planning, calm, and prudent decisionmaking, can make a dangerous situation end successfully. It also serves as a reminder of how fast conditions can change without much warning, and how to deal with these circumstances. Page twos sidebar is my farewell as I fly off into the sunset. After 36+ years of Federal Service, Ive decided to turn in my wings. Ill miss a lot about the job (especially the great and talented USGS people), but thats how careers go, they come to an end at a certain point. Take care, everyone. . . and . . . FLY SAFE! By David Johncox

Head In The Clouds Issue 09 April 2014

THIS IS DELTA ALPHA JULIET (DAJ) 36 ON FINAL APPROACH

Stuck atop an Alaska mountain in a helicopter with ice-encrusted rotor blades

Reprinted with permission from Ned Rozell, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks Photos courtesy of Matt Sexson, USGS Leaning against her Thermarest pad in a helicopter coated with ice, Taryn Lopez imagined herself as the little girl rocking to sleep in her parents boat. Just before she drifted off on that early September night, the volcano researcher wondered if the climbing ropes would hold the Jet Ranger helicopter to the wind-pounded volcano on the spine of the Alaska Peninsula. We werent sure if wed wake up the next morning having moved a couple feet, she said.
Landing area and work site on Mt. Mageik

Flaps at 10, airspeed 80 knots., gear down and green, on final to runway 14. I, Delta (David) Alpha (A) Juliet (Johncox), am on my final flight, about to touch down in a tropical paradise to while away the golden years in the boneyard south of St. Somewhere (FloridaHome of the newlywed and the nearly dead!) After 36 years of Federal Service, Ive decided that life is short, Ive performed my service, and its time to play!

In the back seat of the stranded helicopter, John Paskievitch was confident in his improvised anchors, but had a harder time falling asleep. He couldnt help but Its been a helleva ride! What an honor and pleas- think of the flying-rock windure to have been affiliated with so much excelstorms he had experienced in 25 lence and fascinating science! My career encom- years of fieldwork in the Valley passed making topographic maps as a Cartographer with the Mapping Division; conducting snow of 10,000 Smokes in Katmai National Park -- and how most of surveys in Utah with the Soil Conservation Service (dating myself!); working as both a Hydrothat extreme weather occurred in logic Technician and Hydrologist with the WRD places not nearly as exposed as Colorado District (again, dating myself); getting this.

stance but something thats always a possibility when scientists perform fieldwork in remote spots.

The adventure started in routine fashion. Lopez, who had flown down from Fairbanks, and Paskievitch, who lives near Anchorage, met at the airport in King Salmon. There, Egli operates Egli into occupational safety with the Central Region Air Haul with his family. Lopez, a Safety Office; and finishing off as the Bureau Sleep also eluded pilot Sam Egli postdoctoral student at the UniAviation Manager. I have snowshoed, crossof King Salmon as he shifted in versity of Alaska Fairbanks Geocountry skied, snowmobiled, driven off-road his seat at the unfamiliar sensation physical Institute, is studying the (4WD), horsepacked into wilderness areas, of being wrapped in a sleeping relationship of volcanic gases to SCUBAed, hiked, boated, helicoptered, fixwinged, ATVed, dirt biked, camped, and got paid bag. Egli made the call to stay on seismicity on Mounts Mageik and to do all that! I viewed incredible vistas, defied top of Mount Mageik when ice Martin and Trident Volcano. death and serious injury. (Ive got some stories.) I formed on blades of his helicopter Paskievitch installs and fixes witnessed fresh snowfall glistening in the early scientific equipment all over the morning sun coming over the mountain ridges in a during what was meant to be a Alaska Peninsula. perfectly still and quiet valley in Colorado during short trip.
a solitary cross-country ski into a streamgaging stationone of the many beats-being-in-theoffice moments! I thank all of you for the privilege to have known and worked with such exceptional people during my fabulous career. I have been proud to be a part of the USGS, and I hope some of my contributions have made a difference. If you ever get to the Gulf Coast of Florida (Bradenton), look me up! Ill make you a Margarita! Cheers. . . and Fly Safe! -David AKA DJ

for miles. To the south, they could see the blue-white summit of 7,103-foot Mount Mageik. Their next stop was to retrieve Lopezs equipment from near the steaming crater on top. At the huts, the scientists dropped off excess gear, such as a computer and test equipment Paskievitch used at the repeater site. Lopez pulled on heavy long johns, quick -drying field pants, rain pants, wool socks, two wool shirts, a fleece sweater and a rainshell.

Atop Mount Mageik Overnighting near a steaming volcanic crater in a vessel weighing less than a compact car was not what anybody wanted, but it was a circumstance each had thought about before it occurred. Their foresight, experience and calm allowed them to survive 48 hours on top of Mount Mageik. Theirs is a story of a rare circum-

The next afternoon, with the weather clearing, Egli flew them into the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. First on Paskievitchs list was to fix a radio repeater. He made the repair quickly and Egli flew them deep into the valley, where he landed near the Baked Mountain huts, built by researchers a few decades ago and the only shelter

Ice-encrusted Bell 206

Head In The Clouds Issue 09 April 2014

Paskievitch stepped into insulated coveralls and pulled on his climbing boots. Excellent conditions They boarded the helicopter with the summit of Mount Mageik visible seven miles away. Egli floated them up, and they were soon on the rim of the summit crater with a volcanic lake on one side and crevassed glacier on the other. Strain on rotor shaft Paskievitch pulled on his coat and squeezed out the door. Knowing the Jet Ranger has on its underside three metal tie-in points, he had a plan.

USGS Geophysicist, John Paskievitch, inspects the exterior of the iced-over Bell 206

We landed in excellent conditions, Paskievitch, who works at the USGS Volcano Science Center, said over the phone from Anchorage a few weeks after his adventure. We go into places a lot where weather is an obvious factor you have to consider and youre on high guard. This wasnt one of those times. Nothing was threatening.

The torque meter measures the strain on the rotor shaft. The increasing numbers showed that more ice was forming on the blades. Egli shut down the engine. He asked Paskievitch to Using a Sawzall, which he carries to hack clear the ice. through corroded fasteners during equipment removal, Paskievitch sawed through the 8-foot Paskievitch stepped out, leaned into the wind, long, 2-inch diameter aluminum pipe that had and tapped the leading edges of each blade been Lopezs antenna mast. He cut it into with the synthetic handle of a pick. Lopez got three pieces, each a little more than two feet out and held the blades down while long. Paskievitch zipped his climbing rope over them to remove more ice. Using a pick and shovel, he dug three trenches that would hold the buried pipes at right angles After the 15-minute task was complete, to the helicopter. Each trench was about three Paskievitch and Lopez slipped back into the feet deep in the thawed rocks around the crater helicopter. Egli again cranked the engine to vent. life. As the three waited for a hole in the clouds, they again noticed the numbers climb- Paskievitch also had stout climbing rope, a ing on the torque meter. Egli shut down the good length of it, because he thought they engine. Paskievitch left the helicopter once might need to sling parts off the mountain. He more to manually de-ice the blades. tied a clove hitch at the center of each pipe, dropped it in its trench and cut a thin channel After I cleared one off and was working on for the rope in the direction of the helicopter. the other, I looked over and saw the clean one Then he backfilled the trenches with rocks and was picking up ice again, he said. It was stomped on top. To finish, he tensioned the obvious it was a futile effort. three ropes with a truckers hitch. That was the moment all three realized they were not leaving the volcano any time soon. With the wind gusting at 70 mph, they made a mental switch. The helicopter was no longer transportation; it was a shelter that was far better than their second option, a blue plastic tarp. Worsening weather (The anchors) were set pretty good as these things go, he said. It took about three hours. Whenever I got hot and started to sweat, I laid down and paced myself. The weather worsened during the time Paskievitch secured the ship, so much that he found himself wearing a suit of ice armor as

While Egli sat at the controls of the helicopter, Lopez and Paskievitch disassembled her moni- Egli remained in the pilots seat to help keep toring equipment at the site, which included an the helicopter pinned to the ground. ice-caked antenna attached to an aluminum pole. This was the last trip of the season they would remove the instruments that had provided Lopez data on what types and amounts of gases the volcano emitted. We had worked for 28 minutes when Sam called out to us, Paskievitch said. He said ice was forming on the helicopter blades and it was time to go. Their job unfinished, the scientists gathered up loose gear and headed back to the helicopter. As they buckled in, Egli started rotating the blades. At that point, the weather did creep in, Paskievitch said. (Sam) sat there at full throttle waiting for an opening in the weather. While he was waiting there, we watched his torque meter go from 27 to 35 to 40 percent without him doing anything.

Ice-Encrusted USGS Geophysicist John Paskievitch

Head In The Clouds Issue 09 April 2014

he slipped back into the helicopter. He took off his outerwear and stowed it in a trash bag, which he stored at his feet in the back seat, hoping his clothes would stay frozen and would retain some of their insulating value. With their shelter secured, the three slowed down for a long wait. They each wiggled into their own sleeping bags, with Lopez and Paskievitch also slipping bivvy sacks over the top of their bags. Lopez had two liters of extra water, which they decided to stash under the seat for future use, adding snow to their water bottles each time they exited the helicopter. They had a decent amount of food, even a slice of leftover pizza from a restaurant in Naknek, Alaska. Lopez also had a quart-size bag of trail mix and bars; Egli had a supply of survival food in the helicopter; and Paskievitch had a large bag of granola and other edibles. helicopter was on its way to King Salmon. Their ordeal was over, and just in time. They took advantage of that very brief window (of clear weather), Paskievitch said. The first time the site was accessible in a casual, routine way was six days after we came off. Back home and safe in Fairbanks, Lopez remembers a pretty mellow wait in the plastic bubble clinging to a mountain.
Alaska Air National Guard Pave Hawk arriving atop Mt. Mageik

Because I was with really experienced people and we had shelter I was OK, Lopez said a few weeks after the incident. Sam and John Egli activated his Emergency Locator Transwere really calm and collected, and they liked mitter. Detecting his signal, Alaska Air Nationto joke around. I never felt scared. al Guardsmen at the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, operating out of Joint Base Elmen- She learned a lot by watching Paskievitch indorf-Richardson in Anchorage, started to stall improvised deadman anchors in the mounmove. Within six hours, an HC-130 was cirtain. She also appreciated how he would exit cling Mount Mageik and the pilot of a Pave his side door of the helicopter and walk over to I dont go anywhere without cheese, he said. Hawk helicopter was touching down in the chip ice from her door when she needed to get Equipped with three satellite phones and sever- Valley of 10,000 Smokes waiting for a clearing out. in weather. Also in the area was Bob Egli, al radio systems including hand-helds, they I was very lucky to be stuck with him. Sams son, who piloted another Egli Air Haul started a routine of regular calls. Their early helicopter. communications were to: As for Paskievitch, he appreciated Eglis seasoned decision to remain on the mountain in After their second night on the mountain, Eglis base of operations in King Salmon; poor conditions, the professionalism of the Paskievitch noticed a clear patch of sky overrescue team, and that he got a chance to see the head. He radioed that information to the pilot Michelle Coombs with the Alaska Volcano Pave Hawk refueled by an HC-130 on the way of the Pave Hawk in the valley below. Observatory in Anchorage; and to King Salmon. The large helicopter did not find that hole, but Lopezs boyfriend, David Fee, the acting I was very impressed and thankful. made overpasses for about three hours until coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano another emerged. When the pilot radioed that Observatorys branch in Fairbanks. At the end of the adventure, after arriving safehe could finally see them from above, Egli, ly at Sam Eglis hanger in King Salmon, I said, Were probably stuck for the night, Paskievitch and Lopez exited the Jet Ranger Paskievitch reached into his pack and felt the please call my family so they can pray for us, and secured the doors. plastic bag that contained the slice of pizza he Lopez said. The Pave Hawk landed on a flat spot on a sum- saved for when they might really need it. He The helicopter grew heavier by the hour. Ice pulled out the Ziploc, opened it, and ate the mit glacier a few hundred yards from the Jet formed a shell several inches thick, with up to Ranger, which then resembled an ice sculpture. pizza for lunch. eight inches growing on the helicopters wind- Two climbers on ropes attached to the Pave ward side. They opened the doors as few times Hawk hiked over to the stranded trio. The resas possible, only leaving the helicopter to recuers told Egli Paskievitch, and Lopez to grab lieve themselves. the rope and follow them back to the Pave Hawk. Knocked down by wind When I went out one time, I kept getting knocked down by the wind, said Lopez, the smallest member of the group. After 24 hours with no signs of things getting better, and realizing that worsening weather or the loss of a helicopter door could turn their situation into life or death, the three requested a rescue. Their only other option, walking down the heavily crevassed mountain with a few dozen feet of visibility, was not a viable one. We were inside the helicopter in two minutes when I thought it would take forever, Lopez said. The glacier looked bigger to me.

Window of clear weather Shortly after they were inside the Pave Hawk and the rescuers closed the door, the rescue

Left to right: John Paskievitch, Taryn Lopez, and Sam Egli

Head In The Clouds Issue 09 April 2014

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The Tail End

Upcoming Aviation Training Events

Aviation Training
The list shown to the right is not comprehensive. For the latest on aviation training (online, Webinars, and instructor-led workshops), visit: https://www.iat.gov .

Webinars A-115-Automated Flight Following 4/9/2014 A-208-Aircraft and Pilot Approval 4/9/2014 A-325R-Water Ditching and Survival - Academic Refresher 4/10/2014 A-115-Automated Flight Following 4/16/2014 A-225-IAT Instructor Update 4/24/2014 A-302-Personal Responsibility & Liability 5/7/2014 A-225-IAT Instructor Update 5/8/2014 A-115-Automated Flight Following 5/21/2014 A-307-Aviation Policy and Regulations II 5/28/2014 A-115-Automated Flight Following 6/18/2014 A-225-IAT Instructor Update 6/25/2014 Instructor-led Training IAT Workshop-2014 (Formerly ACE) 4/29-5/1/14 Boise, ID Aviation Management Training for Supervisors 4/7/2014 Port Angeles, WA Aviation Transportation of Hazardous Materials 6/5/2014 Port Angeles, WA Small Unmanned Aircraft System Basic Operator Course 6/10/14 Boise, ID Water Ditching and Survival (TOO NUMEROUS TO LIST) Check iat.gov

Aviation Contact Information

Alaska Region: Matthew Sexson (907) 7867177; msexson@usgs.gov Northwest Region: Lisa Faust (360) 9938913; lisaf@usgs.gov Southwest/Pacific Regions Bill Christiansen (303) 2365513;wdchrist@usgs.gov Midwest/Northeast/Southeast Regions: Tim Saucier (301) 4975934; tsaucier@usgs.gov Bureau Aviation Manager: David Johncox (720) 8413096; djohncox@usgs.gov Office of Aviation Services, HQ, Boise, ID: (208) 4335000; http://oas.doi.gov/ Additional resources can be found at the internal USGS Safety Office, Specialized Program Web site: http://internal.usgs.gov/ops/safetynet/aviat1.html . Want to know USGS/DOI aviation policy in a nutshell? Check out the USGS Aviation Information Sheet at http://internal.usgs.gov/ops/safetynet/AviationFactSheet.pdf .
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