Close Call in Chile

.

The Third Edge helicopter went down 2 days ago with 4 people on board including my friend and heli guide, Jesse Weeks. The second guide, Jeff Hoke, was waiting at the LZ with one client. Freddie, lead Portillo heli guide and I flew to the site with our helicopter from Portillo. Injuries sustained by two onboard were minor. We got Jesse, the pilot, and three of their clients out of the field in the first load while Freddie, Jeff, and I waited at the accident site for the heli to return. The boys got lucky that day. It was a very different outcome from the helicopter crash 25 years ago in the Mardones valley where T.R. Younngstrom and the pilot died. Greg Harms, Seth Morrison, and Steve Winter survived. Don Frank Coffey