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From: Kenny Young <task@fuse.net>
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 20:34:23 -0800
Fwd Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 21:12:09 -0500
Subject: 'Bright Light' spotted near Navy Helicopter Crash

"Bright Light" spotted near KERN RIVER CANYON Helicopter Crash Area
Feb. 20, 1998

This report was enacted due to a brief, vague reference of a
'flare' being spotted near the scene of a tragic helicopter
accident happening near the Kern River Canyon on Wednesday,
February 18, 1998.  The crash claimed the lives of five
crewmen from the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

The article, (dated February 19, 1998) authored by Hanh Kim
Quach of The Fresno Bee, and circulated by The Associated Press,
gives the brief and vague mention of a 'flare' that was spotted
by several residents in the area.  The article states that:
"attempts to locate the origin of the flare were futile."

Of concern, at the time, was the possibility that the fifth
member of the crew, whose remains had not yet been located, may
have sent up a distress flare.  He was later located in the
wreckage of the helicopter.

Tulare County, sheriff's office (209-733-6211) was contacted,
and the dispatcher was advised about the nature of my inquiry,
to determine if the Sheriff's Department had any information
regarding reports of a flare near or around the crash area.

The dispatcher didn't know about any 'flares', and any further
inquiries were to be made with Lietenant Gutsch, who would not
be available until Monday.

The Fresno Bee (1-800-877-7300) was contacted and a reporter said
that the 'flare story' was considered incidental to the story in
light of the accident and its casualties. He said the 'flare'
story originated from a reporter who is with the South Valley
Bureau of the Fresno Bee.

The journalist with the Fresno Bee also said that a separate
helicopter accident happened in the exact same location in 1995.
This accident involved a helicopter also clipping the same
power cable.  There were two casualties in the 1995 accident.

The South Valley Bureau of the Fresno Bee (209-625-5711) in
Visalia, California was contacted. Lou Griswald, the reporter
who covered the crash, conveyed that there were 'many'
people who reported a 'bright object' in the Kern Canyon
vicinity at 11:00 p.m. that evening.

Griswald said that Deputy Ernest Cowan acknowledged that the
bright light caused some concern.  Cowan said the object wasn't
a flare, but was most likely a shooting star or possibly 'space
trash' from a satellite launch at Vandenburg Air Force Base.
The object exhibited a strange, 'arcing' motion that, Griswald
said, ruled out a shooting star.

Cowan was not a witness to the event, but had knowledge of
many inquiries regarding the light. Griswald heard about the
bright light from the Deputy and one other person.

"There was some interest and speculation by people who thought
that this bright light was perhaps a flare from the fifth person
in the accident", Griswald said.  The fifth member of the crew,
whose remains were not initially located with the other four,
was assumed to be unaccounted for at the time of the sighting.

There were many phone calls which came in over a wide area of
Tulare County regarding the bright light.  When told that the
Tulare County Sheriff's Department didn't acknowledge reports of
an alleged flare, Griswald speculated that the term 'flare' may
not have been used, and that "half of the precinct probably
wouldn't have known about it."

Comment:

I think this could possibly be a rocket launch or space debris.
The reported 'arcing' motion seems compelling, and the reporter
did not have additional details with which to elaborate on
this alleged characteristic.

Inquiries should be made with Vandenburg Air Force Base to
determine if there were any rocket launches near/around the
11:00 p.m. time frame on February 18, 1998.  A separate
inquiry with NORAD should also be made concerning satellite
or space debris entry during this time frame, visible over
this Tulare County, California.

Additional contact with witnesses could also reveal better
clarifications regarding physical descriptions, ballistic
conduct, duration of event, etc.

I hope to hear and coordinate with any persons willing to
undertake these inquiries so I can install any comments/
findings to the final report.

Filed
February 20, 1998
Kenny Young

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