Transportation officials have finished a field investigation of the fatal crash of a firefighting helicopter in the Trinity Alps earlier this month, but have much more work to do to pin down the cause, they said Friday.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators located the chopper's voice recorder after the April 5 crash, which killed nine people and injured four.
But they were unable to extract information because the computer chips were damaged by heat, said NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz. Investigators will take the device to its United Kingdom manufacturer for further review. The recorder should have documented the last 30 minutes of conversation between the pilots.
Meanwhile, the helicopter's engines are being examined by a team that includes members of the NTSB, the U.S. Forest Service and Sikorsky, the aircraft's manufacturer.
Witnesses told investigators that the chopper lifted off slower than they would have expected before striking trees and crashing about 100 yards from where it left the ground.
The helicopter went down in the rugged Trinity Alps Wilderness near Weaverville. It was ferrying out firefighters who had been battling the Buckhorn fire.
Friday morning, more than 3,000 family members, friends and firefighters attended a memorial service at the Jackson County Fairgrounds near Medford, Ore., for the nine victims, all of whom lived in Oregon.
Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082.
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