Fireman Edward L. Hill and Fireman Harold L. Radcliffe

In Memory of
Fireman Edward L. Hill and Fireman Harold L. Radcliffe
Helicopter Unit
June 23, 1974

FIREMEN KILLED IN L.A.
COPTER CRASH

Two Die
On Training
Mission

    Los Angeles city's second helicopter crash within a four-week period killed two firemen when their craft burst into flame on impact after plunging into rugged Big Tujunga Canyon 10 miles north of Sunland.
    The crash during a training mission yesterday killed Edward L. Hill, 39, the pilot, who had recorded thousands of hours of flight time in both helicopters and fixed-wing craft; and Harold L. Radcliffe, 37, who had logged 250 hours of helicopter flight, said fire officials.
    Cause of the crash is under investigation.
Police Comdr. Paul J. Gillen was killed and three others injured May 29 in a Police Department helicopter which struck uneven terrain during tactical maneuvers in the Lopez Canyon area.
The helicopter involved in yesterday's crash was a 12-year-old Bell, oldest in the Fire Department's fleet. It was reported missing about 1:00 p.m.
    An hour later, a pilot of a sheriff's helicopter reported sighting wreckage a mile south of Big Tujunga Reservoir.
    The sheriff's pilot reported no sign of life. A spokesman said the sheriff's helicopter set down near the wreckage and the pilot went to the crash scene but found no survivors. The crash ignited a brush fire but it burned it self out without requiring firefighting equipment.
    Coroners and sheriff's deputies carried the bodies about a half-mile over rugged ground to a corner's vehicle.
    Fire officials today were back on the scene with the county's largest helicopter which was to be used to airlift the largest section of wreckage out of the canyon.
    A spokesman for the Fire Department said Hill was a veteran of 14 years with the department, and that he and his former wife, Thelma, were the parents of two children. Radcliffe, a fireman for nine years, and his wife, Gayle, also had two children.
    Both men were stationed at Van Nuys Airport and were flying from there to a training site near Mt. Wilson when the crash occurred, said officials.

Battered helmet in foreground is mute testament to death of two Los Angeles city firemen who died in Big Tujunga Canyon helicopter crash Sunday.

WRECKAGE--Fire Department's largest helicopter lowers wreckage of smaller copter onto flatbed truck in Big Tujunga Canyon. The wreckage was taken to Van Nuys airport where it will be studied.

SKYLIFT--Wreckage of helicopter is lifted high as it is moved from rash site to a truck. Two men were killed in the crash.

Times photos by Bruce Cox

Wreckage of Copter
Airlifted to Van Nuys
Airport for Inquiry

    Wreckage of the city Fire Department's oldest helicopter, which crashed Sunday killing two veteran firemen, was moved today from Big Tujunga Canyon to Van Nuys Airport where an investigation was begun.
    The two-seat Bell 47 aircraft, purchased 12 years ago as the first of the city's air fire-fighting fleet, went down in rugged terrain during a training flight.
    This morning the department dispatched its largest helicopter, a 15-passenger Bell Jet Ranger, to lift the smashed and burned wreckage from the crash site to a flatbed truck which carried it back to the Van Nuys base.
    The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation and Safety Board as well as Fire Department investigators would inspect the debris in an attempt to determine the cause of the crash.
    Department officials identified the dead as Edward L. Hill, 39, of Reseda, the pilot, and Harold L. Radcliffe, 37, of Van Nuys. They said Radcliffe was about halfway through his training course in helicopter fire-fighting methods.
    Hill, a fireman for 14 years, leaves a wife and two children. Radcliffe, who has been in the department nine years, also leaves two children but was divorced, according to the spokesman.
    The Los Angeles Police Department said today its inquiry into the May 29 crash of a police helicopter in which Comdr. Paul Gillen died had still not been completed.

Removal of Fire Dept. Copter Wreckage Begun

    Authorities yesterday entered a rugged mountain area north of La Canada to remove the wreckage of a City Fire Dept. helicopter which crashed Sunday, killing its two occupants, both Valley residents.
    Howard L. Radcliffe 37,of Van Nuys, a nine-year veteran of the Fire Dept., and Edward L. Hill 39, of Granada Hills, a 14-year veteran, died in the crash while on a training mission near the Big Tujunga Reservoir.
    A Fire Sept. spokesman said the pair took off from Van Nuys at 9 a.m. Sunday in the department's helicopter No. 1, a Bell model 47 and were reported one hour overdue at 12:45 p.m.

Deaths Confirmed

    A search was started involving the City and County Fire Depts., County Sheriff's Dept., Los Angeles Police Dept. and state and federal forestry services and the wreckage was spotted at 1:30 p.m. about one mile south of the reservoir, the spokesman told The News.
    A County unit responded to the scene and the two fatalities were confirmed.
    Authorities said Hill had been in charge of the routine mission in the 12-year-old craft, the first helicopter put into service by the City Fire Dept. As senior pilot, Hill reportedly had over 3000 hours of flight time in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
    Radcliffe was about halfway through his helicopter training and had logged about 250 hours of flight time, the spokesman said.
    Investigators said the craft apparently exploded and burned on impact, but the small fire started by the crash had burned out when the first search crews arrived on the scene.
    Work crews yesterday retrieved the wreckage and moved it by truck to Van Nuys Airport, where representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board and Cit Fire Dept. searched for clues into the cause of the crash.

Fatal Crash

    Sunday's crash was the second fatal accident in less than a month involving a city-owned helicopter.
    An LAPD helicopter crashed and burned May 29 in Lopez Canyon killing Comdr. Paul Gillen, chief of the department's uniformed Services Bureau, and injuring three other policemen.
   Hill reportedly had been part of the rescue crew that airlifted victims of that crash to the burn ward of Sherman Oaks Community Hospital.

Source: VALLEY NEWS & GREEN SHEET,
Van Nuys, Calif., June 25, 1974

CAUSE OF COPTER CRASH PROBED

Representatives of National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration check through wreckage of Los Angeles Fire Dept. helicopter at Van Nuys Airport to try to determine cause of crash last Sunday. The helicopter went down on a training mission near Big Tujunga Reservoir killing Howard L. Radcliffe 37 of Van Nuys and Edward L. Hill 39 of Granada Hills. The wreckage was removed from the rugged mountain area by work crews Monday. Probing skeletal remains of craft are Robert H. Shaw, air safety inspector and Larry Perkins, FAA flight operations inspector at Van Nuys Airport. Investigators said copter burst into flame on impact.

Source: VALLEY NEWS & GREEN SHEET,
Van Nuys, Calif., June 27, 1974


VICTIMS of helicopter crash Sunday are City Firemen Howard L. Radcliffe 37, of Van Nuys, left, and Edward L. Hill 39, of Granada Hills. Men died while on training mission with Fire Dept.
Rites Planned Tomorrow for Two Killed in Crash
Funeral services will be held tomorrow for two city firemen killed Sunday in a helicopter crash north of La Canada. Services for Harold L. Radcliffe of Van Nuys will be held at 10 a.m. and services for Edward L. Hill of Granada Hills will be held at 1:30 p.m., both at Utter McKinley Van Nuys Mortuary, 7720 Sepulveda Blvd. Chaplain Charles Brown of the Los Angeles Fire Relief Association will officiate at the services for both men, with private interment to follow. Served as Pilot The two men were killed while on a routing training mission for the City Fire Dept. when the helicopter in which they were riding crashed and burned in a mountain area about a mile from the Big Tujunga Reservoir. Mr. Radcliffe was born in Nebraska on May 25, 1937. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict and joined the Fire Dept. Sept. Jan 16, 1965. He served as a pilot with the department's aircraft crash rescue team. Joined in 1960 He is survived by his widow, Gayle; a daughter Lisa; a son, Kevin; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Radcliffe of Oregon, and a sister, Nona Mills of Oregon. Mr. Hill was a member of the Fire Dept.'s helicopter unit at Van Nuys Airport. He had been a member of the department since April 30, 1960. He is survived buy his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Hill; a daughter, Carol, and a son, Michael.

Funeral cortege of Los Angeles City Fire Department victims of Sunday Helicopter helicopter crash, Harold L. Radcliffe, 37, and Edward L. Hill, 39, rolls through honor line formed by firemen and policemen in memorial rites held in Van Nuys Wednesday.

RITES HELD FOR FIREMEN
KILLED IN COPTER CRASH

    Last rites for two city firemen killed in a helicopter crash in Big Tujunga Canyon have been held, with hundreds of firemen and police officers in attendance.
    Officers, firemen and friends yesterday filed past the flag draped caskets of Harold L. Radcliffe, 37, of Van Nuys, and Edward L. Hill, 39, of Granada Hills, who were killed Sunday when their city Fire Department helicopter crashed during a training flight.
    Services for Radcliffe were held in the morning at Utter McKinley Mortuary in Van Nuys, while rites for Hill were held in the afternoon at the same mortuary.
   The body of Radcliffe was flown to Nebraska, his home state, for burial and the body of Hill was cremated.

Public Aid in Copter Crash Probe Asked

    The Los Angeles City Fire Department Friday asked the public's assistance in investigating the June 23 crash of a helicopter which killed two firemen.
    Officials requested any person who may have witnessed the crash of the two-seat Bell 47 chopper in Big Tujunga Canyon north of La Canada to contact the City Fire Department at 386-5771.
    The wreckage was found Sunday, June 23 at 2 p.m. after it apparently exploded and burned on impact. It was last seen flying at 11:20 a.m. that day.
    Killed in the crash were Harold L. Radcliffe, 37, of Van Nuys, and 37-year-old Edward L. Hill of Reseda.
    Authorities are still probing the cause of the crash.

Missing Parts Sought

Help Urged In Probe
Of Helicopter Crash

By City News Services

To aid in determining what caused a fiery crash of a Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter two weeks ago, investigators Monday asked for public assistance to locate fragments, missing from the wreckage.

Officials were particularly interested in locating a section of the tail rotor assembly, which they said might explain why the two-seat Bell 47 chopper crashed, killing the two men aboard.

The section is described to be about a foot long, tapering from one-inch wide down to 5/8 inch wide.

Firemen said that attached to this piece may be a one-inch gear. Depending on damage, the fire department also says a third piece, a part of the rotor blade about eight inches long, may be attached to the gear.

Investigators said the fragments are essential to the National Transportation Safety Board's inquiry into the crash.

The fire department said anyone that might have any information about the fragments should call 485-6093.

Source: STAR EVENING NEWS, Pasadena, Calif., July 6, 1974

Source: OUTLOOK, Santa Monica, July 9, 1974

Helicopter Crash
Witnesses Sought

    The Los Angeles Fire Department is looking for anyone who may have witnessed the crash of an LA City Fire Department helicopter in Big Tujunga Canyon on June 23. If you witnessed the crash officials would like you to call 386-5771. Any eye-witness information would be of great assistance in the investigation team's attempt to piece together the details of the crash. The phone is manned 24-hours a day, so you may call any time with information.
    The helicopter crashed on a Sunday, June 23 in Big Tujunga Canyon, two miles south of Big Tujunga dam in rough terrain. Killed in the crash were fireman Edward L. Hill of Reseda, and fireman Harold L. Radcliffe of Van Nuys.
    The aircraft, a 12-year-old Bell 47 two-seater had been on training mission at the time of the accident. A fire department spokesman said the helicopter was the oldest in operation in the city and that apparently it exploded and burned on impact.
    Authorities said the craft took off at 9:15 a.m. June 23 from Van Nuys Airport and U.S. Forest Service rangers spotted the wreckage at 1:30 a.m.
    If you have information concerning the crash, please contact the fire department at the 24-hour number, 386-5771.

Source: RECORD LEDGER, Tujunga, Calif., July 11, 1974

Copter Crashes Remain a
Mystery to the Public

By BOB McKEE
Ledger West Bureau Chief

    Three men are dead and two have been seriously injured as the result of helicopter accidents since May 29, And as of Friday no one knows why --- or is telling why --- the two City of Los Angeles helicopters crashed.
    The first crash was reported May 29 in the Little Tujunga Canyon area of the San Gabriel Mountains while the second occurred June 23 in Big Tujunga Canyon.
    The first was a police helicopter reportedly on a "routing" training mission with SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) men aboard the craft. Commander Paul Gillen died in the crash and Sgt. Dave McGill and Officer Richard Kebaugh were seriously injured.
    The craft they were flying was a Bell Jet Ranger and initial reports indicated it crashed and burned on impact when the pilot maneuvered the craft too close to the hillsides of the canyon area.
    The second crash, June 23, killed Senior Pilot Ed Hill and Harold Radcliffe when a Bell 47 two-place piston driven copter of the Fire Dept. crashed while on a "routing" training mission in the Big Tujunga Canyon area.
    The FAA, (Federal Aviation Agency), reportedly is or has investigated both crashes and in one instance -- with the police --- its report is finished according to downtown sources.
    The Fire Dept. has assigned three chiefs to investigate the crash of its copter and public relations men report no news on that investigation is ready to be released although they are looking for witnesses to that crash and any parts that may still be in the area just north of Vogel Flats. Anyone with any information regarding that crash has been asked to call 485-6185.
    But while both the police and Fire Dept. public relations personnel have been most cooperative, no public reports have been issued.
    PR men of the Police Dept. say the FAA has completed its report but the department hasn't and both reports will be merged into one final draft to be presented to the Chief of Police who in turn will relay it to the City Attorney who then will relay it to the Mayor before anything is made public.
    One officer said Friday part of the reason for the delay may be due to a seminar for "top brass" which lasted three working days and one weekend.
    But in the meantime, three men are dead, two are recuperating from serious injuries and the public doesn't know why.

Source: THE LEDGER, Montrose, Calif. July 14, 1974

Support for LAFD

    The recent deaths of two Los Angeles City firemen in a helicopter crash was both tragic and in a sense unnecessary.
    It is or was an indirect result of the blatant apathy the people of Los Angeles have for the Fire Department. This was shown at the polls June 4 when the Proposition B went down to defeat due to a lack of majority of votes cast. True---the proposition did not directly call for funds for a new helicopter but it did call for other funds plus funding for new fire stations. But people did not vote or some felt the need to vote nay.
    There was no reason for those two firemen to be in a nearly 15-year-old craft. We have the resources to keep the LAFD a class-one department. But if we do not watch out we will not only suffer a degradement to class two but people and firemen themselves, will suffer and die. We saw what happened to two firemen in poor equipment and what will the citizenry think when a family dies because there were no funds to build a fire station shorter a distance to their home? Let's give the LAFD the support it deserves and prevent any further tragedies. They are unnecessary.

ROBERT McARTHUR
Encino