Mt erebus crash site today9/20/2023 No one was injured, but the weather was closing in and there was a shortage of survival gear. Suddenly it was in a downdraft on the northwest side of the mountain the engine could not pull up, and the helicopter crash-landed. He climbed to 12,500 feet, perhaps trying to fly above the crater, but the craft was too heavily loaded. Surprisingly, the pilot took an inland route, hugging the slopes of Erebus. Neider had arranged with the Chalet for a GFA from the Field Party Processing Center (FPPC renamed the BFC later that season in memory of geologist Tom Berg, who had been killed in a field helo crash the previous season) to come along on turnaround to help carry gear and set up the camp. Instead, a ride was arranged on one of the Coast Guard helo's from the Staten Island (the HH-52A helicopter #CG1404) since these aircraft were equipped with flotation they were allowed to fly over open water unlike the Navy's aircraft. The original plan was for him to be transported there by a VXE-6 H-34 helicopter, but at the last minute this ride was cancelled because there was too much cloud cover along the planned coastal route. While in Mactown in January 1971, he wangled a visit to Cape Bird (his second, actually) during which he planned to camp adjacent to some Kiwi penguin researchers and write about the experience. Briefly, here's the story: Charles Neider was in Antarctica on an NSF artists/writers grant, whatever they called them in those days, to gather material for what would eventually be his book Edge of the World, Ross Island, Antarctica.
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