NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

This is another sad day for the NASA family. Yesterday afternoon, a helicopter searching for debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia crashed in the Angelina National Forest in east Texas. Pilot J. "Buzz" Mier of Arizona and Texas Forest Service Ranger Charles Krenek of Lufkin were killed in the accident. Three other crewmembers in the search effort were injured in the accident and are now being treated for non-life threatening injuries at the Memorial Medical Center of East Texas in Lufkin. They are: Ronnie Dale, NASA Safety and Process Assurance Branch, Kennedy Space Center; Richard Lange, United Space Alliance, Kennedy Space Center and Matt Tschacher, United States Forest Service.

All of us at NASA wish to express our sincere condolences to the families of the helicopter crew members killed in the accident. We deeply empathize with their loss at such a trying time, and have lowered flags at all NASA centers to half-staff to honor the memory of their loved ones. Our thoughts and concerns go out to the injured crew members, and we pray for their speedy recovery.

Earlier this week, I visited the recovery operations area in east Texas and had the opportunity to thank the personnel searching for Columbia debris. NASA is deeply grateful for the support we have received during recovery operations from more than 2000 men and women from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Park Service, Texas and Louisiana National Guard, and state and local authorities who have helped us locate, document, and collect debris.

While the ground search for Shuttle material will continue, all Shuttle search aircraft operations have been discontinued until officials are assured that operations can continue in the safest manner possible.

May God bless these heroic crew members, their families, and the members of the NASA family.

Sean O'Keefe
NASA Administrator
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