NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

INCIDENTS

Katmai NP&P

Search For Missing Aircraft Enters Fourth Day

The search for a missing airplane with four people aboard - three of them NPS employees - enters its fourth day today. The single engine floatplane, a de Havilland Beaver operated by Branch River Air Service in King Salmon, has been missing since Saturday afternoon. The missing employees are HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/katm/parknews/katmai-missing-plane-employees.htm" Mason McLeod, 26, and brothers Neal Spradlin, 28, and Seth Spradlin, 20. The pilot is Marco Alletto, 47, from King Salmon. Yesterday, searchers returned to the northeast part of the HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisit/upload/KATM_Park%20Map_for_web1. pdf" four million acre national park, particularly the several river valleys that drain into Kamishak Bay. The expectation was that the plane would have flown up one of the valleys, then along Kulik Lake west toward King Salmon. The weather in the primary search area was excellent, with largely clear skies and excellent visibility. Ten aircraft - four helicopters and six airplanes - participated in the search on Monday. The multi-agency effort included the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska State Troopers, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Air National Guard, Egli Air Haul, and Branch River Air. Other air taxi operators taking clients to the area have also informally joined the search. The National Park Service has a regional incident management team in place at the park's King Salmon headquarters to assist the park coordinate the search. Most aircraft involved in the search are equipped with GPS tracking devices, which allows search managers to plot areas that were intensely searched on Saturday and Sunday, along with areas that needed a closer examination yesterday. Helicopters searched the coast of Katmai from Katmai Bay to Swikshak Bay on the chance the missing aircraft began an unexpected route back to King Salmon on Saturday afternoon, but no sign of the missing plane was found. Today, search managers expect to send aircraft back to areas that have been less intensively searched in the last three days. By evening, the weather in King Salmon had deteriorated somewhat and rain was falling at 7:30 p.m., although the weather remained better in the primary search area to the east. Search aircraft were expected to return to King Salmon at about 10:30 p.m. The search began late Saturday afternoon after the Beaver failed to return to King Salmon. Two planes owned by Branch River Air Service in King Salmon flew to Swikshak Lagoon on Saturday to pick up an NPS maintenance crew working there preparing for the reconstruction of an old ranger station. Three people were picked up by the Beaver at 1:45 p.m., and a second plane left Swikshak 15 minutes later. The second plane, with two employees and pilot on board, returned safely but had to fly much of the way 500 feet above ground level due to deteriorating weather conditions.

An emergency response was initiated through the Rescue Coordination Center on Saturday afternoon. A C-130 from Anchorage and a Coast Guard helicopter searched the area until 11 p.m. Saturday, but found nothing. There have been no radio or emergency locator transmitter transmissions. Katmai N.P is about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage. [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Region]

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/katm/parknews/newsreleases.htm" http://www.nps.gov/katm/parknews/newsreleases.htm

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Six Injured In Motor Home Accident

A large motor home went off a park road and about 100 feet down an extremely steep embankment around noon yesterday, injuring six of its seven occupants - two seriously. The driver of the motor home was attempting to pull off the Newfound Gap Road onto the shoulder, but was unable to stop before the shoulder became too narrow to support the vehicle. The RV fell onto its side and slid about 100 feet down the embankment. The driver was uninjured, but all six passengers were hurt - two with severe injuries were flown to a hospital in Asheville, the other four were taken by ambulance to Cherokee Hospital with less serious injuries. The Newfound Gap Road was closed around 12:30 p.m. as emergency personnel from the park and several North Carolina agencies converged on the scene to provide medical assistance to the patients and conduct technical rescue operations. When emergency personnel arrived on scene, all but two of the passengers were alongside the road. The two victims who were airlifted out had to be hoisted up the embankment by medical personnel. Joining park staff in the operation were Cherokee Tribal Emergency Management Services, Bryson City Fire Department, Swain County Rescue, Cherokee Fire Department, and Cherokee Natural Resources. The road remained closed through the afternoon to allow a crane service to remove the RV from the site. [Nancy Gray, Public Affairs Officer]

Cape Hatteras NS

Man Drowns Off Park Beach

On the morning of August 18th, two men - B.M. and N.T. - went swimming in the ocean just north of Ramp 4. N.T. was in the lead; he went under a wave, then looked for B.M. upon resurfacing and was unable to him. He searched for B.M. for about three minutes, then returned to Oregon Inlet Campground, where he had a friend call 911. Rangers and other responders determined that there was a northward flowing current along the beach. The primary search area was from south of Ramp 4 to a point about a half mile north. A search was conducted by personnel in vehicles along the beach, in boats and PWC's in and outside the surf zone, and in an aircraft. A diver also checked underwater. The search was suspended at dark, but resumed the next morning. B.M.'s body was found about a half mile south of Ramp 4 that afternoon. The death has been ruled a drowning. [Paul Stevens, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Director's Office - In this five-minute episode, Director Jarvis introduces new members of the National Leadership Council and shares issues discussed during the NLC's quarterly meeting at Denali.

Office of Public Affairs - Director Jarvis has selected Julia Washburn - former park ranger, National Park Foundation senior vice president, park advocate, and entrepreneur - to serve in the newly created position of associate director for interpretation and education.

Intermountain Region - Clifford “Cliff” Spencer has been named the new superintendent of Mesa Verde National Park. Photo.

NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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