Fog hampers air search for missing helicopter crew

By Associated Press

Feb 29, 2012 6:19 AM CST

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Fog hampers air search for missing helicopter crew — Firefighters from the Barnwell Volunteer Fire Department look out into the bay as they wait on standby at the Mullet Point Park in Point Clear, Ala. after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashed in Mobile Bay late Tuesday Feb. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Press-Register/John David Mercer) (Associated Press)

Authorities searching for three missing crew members after the crash of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter on Alabama's Gulf Coast say fog has hampered the air search, but divers were planning another attempt to get inside the submerged aircraft.

The MH-65C helicopter crashed Tuesday evening in Mobile Bay, Petty Officer 2nd Class Elizabeth Bordelon said.

She said one crew member was found unresponsive, and was later declared dead.

Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said early Wednesday that fog was beginning to clear and visibility was improving.

He said divers overnight had gone to the site of the helicopter, in about 13 feet (4 meters) of water, but were unable to gain access to its fuselage. He said they planned to try again Wednesday morning.