Mourning the lost

We are saddened by the crash of Alaska State Troopers’ Helo-1 during a rescue mission near Talkeetna late Saturday.

It is always a tragedy to lose a trooper in the line of duty. But it is unimaginably tragic to also lose the helicopter pilot and the snowmachiner the two were there to rescue.

While troopers put their lives on the line on a daily basis, for a trooper to be killed on the job is thankfully a rare occurrence in Alaska. Though there have been some very close calls, the last time it happened here was in 2001 when Trooper Hans-Peter Roelle was shot and killed trying to arrest a violent suspect near Palmer.

Though we never met Trooper Tage Toll, 40, we know his name from reading numerous court filings he authored

As for the pilot, one of our reporters vividly recalls interviewing a trooper about a search-and-rescue effort in the Eureka area when the sergeant on the phone commended Mel Nading, 55, as quite possibly being responsible for more rescues than anyone else in that organization.

We don’t doubt it. Whenever someone needed finding, it seemed like Nading was on the front lines flying to the rescue.

As reporters, we are familiar with Helo-1’s work. We have seen it land in parking lots and on landing pads, shuttle searchers to avalanche zones in Hatcher Pass and respond to violent car wrecks.

As for the snowmachiner, Talkeetna resident Carl Ober, 56, we can’t possibly imagine what his family feels, to know that he was headed home, until all of a sudden he would never be coming home. We’re sure he never intended to need rescuing that day, and we’re so very sorry these events cost him his life.

Our hearts go out to the families of all three men, to their friends and to the law enforcement community whose grief was evidenced by the procession carrying their remains from the Palmer Airport to Anchorage, which troopers say included representatives from every Valley law enforcement agency.

It’s a fact of life in our part of the world that sometimes we get into predicaments and need rescuing. This crash is a stark reminder, though, that even once the rescue is complete, the rescued and the rescuer are still in mortal danger. Flying is dangerous work, especially when conducted in Alaska’s harsh and fast-changing conditions.

We all know that when we call 911 for help we are really asking our neighbors to put themselves in harm’s way. That so many Alaskans — from helo pilots to sworn troopers to firefighters and medics — are willing to do so speaks to the caliber of our neighbors.

If any good can come of all of this tragedy, we hope that it will temper us all with an extra measure of caution when traveling in the backcountry. We have a responsibility to be as safe and as prepared as possible, so that we never ask our neighbors to put themselves in harm’s way unless it is absolutely necessary.