Survivors of Monday's mountainside crash landing of a SkyWest commuter plane were counting their blessings, while investigators for the National Transportation & Safety Board on Tuesday searched for the reason the plane went down about 4 1/2 miles away from the airport runway it was heading for in Elko, Nev.
A SkyWest official said Tuesday that snow was hampering the investigation, as was the inability of investigators to talk with the hospitalized crew."We hope to know more as the world finds out through the NTSB investigation," SkyWest Vice President Ron Reber said Tuesday.
The crash ironically occurred on the third-year anniversary of another SkyWest crash. Ten people were killed shortly before 1 p.m. on Jan. 15, 1987, when a single-engine Mooney aircraft collided in midair with a SkyWest aircraft in the skies over Kearns.
The plane's passengers - who survived Monday's crash with only minor injuries - are counting themselves lucky.
"It's hard to put into words because most people don't live through things like this. It's amazing that we did," said passenger Nicole Blohm, 21, of Elko.
Blohm, a University of Southern California student, and her sister Kristina had just arrived in Salt Lake City from Las Vegas when they boarded Flight 5855 to make their connection home to Elko.
Passengers were warned then that the plane might not be able to land in Elko because of snow and low visibility there, she said.
The passengers received no warning that there were problems with the plane or the weather, but Blohm said she became suspicious when minutes before the crash the pilot announced the plane would be landing in Elko in 10 minutes. As the daughter of a pilot, Blohm said she understands flying and was concerned because the plane had begun to descend very quickly and then ascended again.
"I just didn't quite understand what was going on."
About that time, she and her sister looked out the window and could see the ground. Ironically, such a sight made them feel more comfortable.
"We looked at each other and said, `Whew! There's the ground. Thank God!' "
About 9:30 a.m. the twin-engine aircraft landed on a snowy mountainside about 4 1/2 miles southeast of where it should have.
"I knew it wasn't just a bumpy landing. I knew we crashed but I didn't know where," Blohm said. "When we crashed, I was still looking for Elko . . . a sign, some buildings or anything."
All she could see was sagebrush and snow.
"My initial reaction while we were still sliding down the mountain was to get the door open as soon we could. I thought there was going to be an explosion," she said.
All 14 passengers and the co-pilot got safely out of the airplane. Only the injured pilot stayed inside. "We all worked really well together," she said. "There was no real panic. Everyone was surprisingly calm."
Ted McBride was flying his El Aero Services helicopter into Elko when he heard Flight Service unsuccessfully attempting to contact the pilot. "By the time I got on the ground, I figured something was wrong," he said.
He called the Federal Aviation Administration on his radio and got permission to look for the plane. He spotted the downed plane about 10 minutes after it had crashed.
"It amazed me that people were alive," he said.
Some of the passengers were walking up the trail where the plane had slid, looking for luggage and debris. Others were inside the plane. He radioed for ambulances and the sheriff's office. He then returned to the airport, brought back a paramedic, and began shuttling the passengers to the airport.
McBride said the plane first hit a VHF Omni Range Receiver navigational device at the top of the mountain. "He should have been (flying) at least 537 feet above that hill."
He said the plane then slid about 40 yards, bounced into the air for 100 yards, then slid about 100 yards over a small rocky cliff and was again airborne about 150 yards. "It went down again kind of like they were on a ski jump and I think that's what saved them," he said.
"The aircraft is pretty much intact," Reber said. Only the plane's tail was missing and the wings were broken off.
Although all passengers were taken to Elko General Hospital, only four men - three passengers and the pilot - were admitted. The pilot suffered the most serious injuries. He had two leg fractures and either a broken rib or "some sort of chest injury," Reber said. Two passengers suffered facial injuries and one was being treated for shock, he said.