http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/1840766

March 28, 2003, 5:40AM

Helicopter crashes during shuttle debris search
Associated Press
BROADDUS -- A U.S. Forest Service helicopter searching for space shuttle
Columbia debris crashed Thursday in rural San Augustine County, killing two
people and injuring three.

All five people were in the helicopter when it crashed around 4:30 p.m. in
rough wooded terrain, said Kim Pease, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.

The injured were taken to Memorial Medical Center of East Texas in Lufkin, said
NASA public affairs officer Dave Drachlis. Two were airlifted by helicopter and
one went by ambulance.

Marsha Cooper, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, said it was unclear
what agency the two people killed were affiliated with, and their names were
not immediately released.

Conditions of the three survivors were unavailable Thursday night.

The crash site was accessible only from muddy, rut-filled stretches of trail.
All-terrain vehicles were brought to the scene to assist emergency personnel,
the Lufkin Daily News reported in its Friday editions. ... (cont)

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Well so much for thinning the forests!~