Photo: Helicopter crew testifies in death
Lt. Timothy Schmitz, commander of the rescue helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Monroe, left, talks Saturday with Capt. Mike Rand, chief investigator for the U.S. Coast Guard, after a break in testimony in Anchorage. They are part of a federal investigation into the sinking of the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger. Five people died and 42 crewmen were rescued when the fishing boat sank off of the Aleutian Islands. Coast Guard Petty Officer Alfred Musgrave told a Marine Board of Investigation that victim Byron Carrillo fell from a rescue basket as he tried to pull him into a helicopter. Carrillo was hypothermic and his survival suit had filled with water, making it extremely heavy. He slipped from Musgrave's grasp and fell about 40 feet into the sea.
