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Show Helicopter Crash Injures 1Y0 in San Juan County Two persons were seriously injured March 14 in a helicopter crash in San Juan County near Butler Wash 9 miles southwest of Bluff, and mechanical failure appears to have been the cause, according accord-ing to Sheriff Rigby Wright. Occupants included the pilot Fred Wardell, 34. Monticello. and two Bureau of Land Management rangers carrying out a routine patrol of Anasazi Indian ruins in the Grand Gulch area. According to the sheriff s report the pilot, an employee of Scenic Aviation, Aviat-ion, Blanding, tried to land the craft and then aborted the landing, when the craft failed to respond and crashed. Wardell was taken to San Juan County Hospital and later transferred to Mercy Medical Center, Durango, Colo., where he was listed in fair condition Monday with facial cuts around an eye and head injuries. Ranger Rebecca Blackburn, 23, Blanding, was in serious condition in San Juan County Hospital with a crushed vertebra. Ranger Jim Conklin, who was only slightly injured, walked some 7'j miles from the crash site to U-163 to get help. |