Pilot Ted McBride was praised Monday as the hero of a daring rescue of two people who survived a helicopter crash that killed three others, including a fellow chopper pilot and the president of Walt Disney Co.
"This is the most dangerous flying in the world," Sheriff Neil Harris said. "We got two people out still alive, which is a miracle in itself."The Ruby Mountain Heli-Ski chopper went down about 4 p.m. Sunday in a steep canyon near the 7,500-foot level of the mountains about 25 miles southeast of here.
Those killed were Frank Wells, 62, the president and chief executive officer of the Disney company; fellow passenger Beverly Johnson, 46, of Los Angeles and Kelly, Wyo., and the pilot, Dave Walton of North Fork, Idaho. Sunday was Walton's 46th birthday.
Johnson's husband, Mike Hoover, 50, and their ski guide, Paul Scannell, 40, of Tahoe City, Calif., were flown to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, where Scannell was listed in critical condition with head injuries and a broken left leg. Hoover was in serious condition with a broken right elbow and left leg.
McBride was at the scene within 30 minutes of the crash and began the task of recovering the victims. Assisted by the sheriff and Undersheriff Clair Morris, the victims were loaded into the helicopter one by one and flown to Elko General Hospital.
Morris said it was McBride's piloting expertise that made the mission a success.
"It's a real nasty canyon. You can't drive there, you can't land there. He just tipped the helicopter toward the slope and rested the front of the skids on the ground and hovered," Morris said.