Tuesday, July 15, 2008

In Memorium...

I can't believe I forgot to post this back on the 13th. Sorry.

I worked with Kevin and Eric at the Sacramento County Main Jail over ten years ago.

You aren't forgotten...


Dep. Joe Kievernagel


Dep. Kevin Blount


Deputy Joseph M. Kievernagel (Pilot) and Deputy Kevin Blount (Flight Officer) were killed on July 13, 2005, while piloting the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department’s Helicopter, Star 6.

Deputy Joe Kievernagel, Deputy Kevin Blount and Deputy Eric Henrikson (Flight Officer in training) took off from Mather Air Field for routine patrol of Sacramento County. They soon responded to a burglary call at a Folsom business. After they cleared the call they flew over the Lake Natoma area where hundreds of people had gathered to get relief from the intense heat being experienced in the Sacramento area.

What happened next will remain in the hearts and minds of the Sheriff’s Department personnel forever.

Star 6 developed catastrophic engine trouble. Witnesses reported that it seemed that Deputy Kievernagel tried in vain to control the craft, Deputy Kievernagel desperately tried to land the ship somewhere away from the crowded lake area. Star 6 crashed into a nearby hillside and rolled. Deputies Kievernagel and Blount were killed. Deputy Eric Henrikson was critically injured.

Both officers were highly regarded professionals and truly dedicated to their assignments in Air Operations.

Posted by TheBronze at 11:01 PM

4 comments:

  1. *Goddess*July 16, 2008 at 6:06 PM

    I see that happened in '05. Do you know anything about the deputy that was critically injured then?

    ReplyDelete
  2. TheBronzeJuly 16, 2008 at 9:08 PM

    IIRC, he's recuperated and back at work. I THINK that might be on the vid, not sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 17, 2008 at 1:51 AM

    I was going to ask the same thing goddess did ...

    Did they ever find out what the cause of the crash was?

    ReplyDelete
  4. TheBronzeJuly 17, 2008 at 12:26 PM

    Yes, it was a fuel-related part on the Turbomeca engine. The part had a design flaw that allowed it to be installed backwards, thus cutting off the fuel supply.

    The families just recently made a settlement with Turbomeca. Supposedly, TM knew about the flaw and didn't notify the users nor did they do a recall. TM was dirty, so I hope the families got a LOT of money.

    http://www.sacbee.com/291/story/1055044.html

    ReplyDelete

Please be kind to others. My blog, my rules. I am the sole arbiter of which comments stay and which ones go. The First Amendment applies to Government censorship, not private.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)