Miracle on Buffalo Pass

Book excerpt: On the evening of December 4, 1978, Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 departed Steamboat Springs, Colorado bound for Denver with twenty-two souls on board. Less than an hour later, the flight was forced down on Buffalo Pass at an altitude of 10,500 feet when it encountered severe icing conditions and downdrafts created by the winds of a mountain wave. The tragic accident triggered one of the most intense search and rescue efforts in Rocky Mountain history. This true story is told in the words of the courageous passengers and crew- who found themselves struggling to survive the arctic type blizzard conditions with no hope of immediate help-and the heroic search and rescue personnel who risked lives to save lives. Led by an elite Civil Air Patrol unit, and civilian volunteers, the search and rescue effort is considered one of the most successful in the organization's history.