Airport hangar packed for memorial

SANTA FE (KRQE) - A New Mexico State Police sergeant who died after a helicopter crash last Tuesday was remembered as a hero and a good man on Monday as hundreds of mourners packed into a hangar at the Santa Fe Municipal Airport.

Several mourners had to stand outside the hangar because of the crowd.

Sgt. Andy Tingwall's brother asked mourners not to grieve too much because Tingwall would want them to be there for his family and the family of Megumi Yamamoto, who also died in the crash.

Tingwall's brother said he would have praised the heroism of Office Wesley Cox, the sole survivor of the crash.

Tingwall served for five years as a pilot for the New Mexico State Police, part of a 13-year career with the department.

The family plans a private ceremony later Monday at the airport.

Meanwhile, a memorial service for Yamamoto is planned for Monday at 3 p.m. at the Salazar and Sons Mortuary on Lead Avenue at Third Street in downtown Albuquerque. It will be open to the public.

Her mother and aunt arrived in Albuquerque from Tokyo on Saturday.

Yamamoto, originally from Tokyo, was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico studying for her doctorate in physics.

Yamamoto's mother, Junko Yamamoto, said she wanted to meet Cox. He had been acting as a spotter to help find Megumi Yamamoto after she got lost while hiking on Santa Fe Baldy.

Through a translation by the Japanese consulate, the Yamamoto family thanked those who took part in the rescue mission.

Meanwhile, the state Office of the Medical Investigator on Monday released the causes of death for both Tingwall and Yamamoto. Investigators said Tingwall died from exposure complicated by multiple blunt-force injuries, while Yamamoto died of multiple blunt-force injuries. Both deaths were ruled accidental.