JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - The Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing rescued eight people during four rescue missions in Alaska and Yukon Territory Jan. 26-31.
A 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk and a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King II, both with 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen (PJs) on board, responded Jan. 26 to a crashed ultralight aircraft near Faro, Yukon Territory, Canada, about 550 miles east of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and about 250 miles from the Alaska-Canada border.
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre-Victoria requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at JBER, which passed the request to the 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer. The SARDO ordered the launch of the two 176th Wing aircraft.
The HC-130 flew ahead of the HH-60 to conduct weather and route reconnaissance and used one of its two air-to-air refueling hose-and-drogue systems to extend the HH-60’s range. The Combat King is the Department of Defense’s only dedicated fixed-wing combat search and rescue platform.
Equipped with a rescue hoist and long-range internal fuel tanks, the HH-60 is the DOD’s only dedicated CSAR helicopter.
The HH-60 landed near the crash, and the PJs made contact with the plane crash survivors before loading them into the helicopter for transport to Faro, where they were handed over to Canadian medical authorities.
At Faro, the crew discovered the HH-60 needed repair. Over the next several days, 144th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster IIIs flew to Whitehorse, about 120 miles southwest of Faro, to ferry aircrew and 176th Maintenance Group Airmen. An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook, assigned to B Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, flew from JBER to Faro to bring 176th maintenance crews necessary parts. A regular Air Force C-12 Huron light passenger and cargo aircraft assigned to 517th Airlift Squadron also supported the repair.
The HH-60 returned to JBER Feb. 6.
Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Tyler Seibold, 176th Wing SARDO, said a 210th RQS HH-60 crew was training near Figure Eight Lake Jan. 30, about 20 miles west of JBER, when they heard over the radio an aircraft was suffering an engine mishap. Seibold granted the crew permission to investigate, and they spotted a Super Cub at the lake after the pilot safely landed the plane.
“The pilot was still troubleshooting the aircraft to see if it was airworthy,” Seibold said. “When he realized it wasn’t, he requested a ride.”
The AKRCC received a report Jan. 31 from Alaska State Troopers of a snowboarder injured in an avalanche at Turnagain Pass about 40 miles southeast of JBER.
“We took off pretty quick, got to the site, and fortunately, the good Samaritans on site and on snowmachines had already prepared a flat area on the side of the hill that PJs could hoist into and put their litter down, easing packaging the patient for hoist back into the helicopter,” Seibold said.
The helicopter crew transported the hypothermic patient to Providence Alaska Medical Center helipad in Anchorage for transfer to medical officials.
“During the mission, we got reports of an aircraft sinking through the ice about 40 or 50 miles from where the HH-60 was at,” Seibold said. “Once they were airborne with the patient from that first mission, we retasked them to investigate this aircraft mishap.”
During the follow-on mission, the AKRCC periodically received updated information from tour helicopter pilots flying over the wreckage.
“The RCC did a lot of work to drill down into whose plane it was, how long has it been missing, and figuring out how many people were onboard,” Seibold said.
Seibold said the rescue crew had to make a quick turn to rescue the plane crash survivors.
“After we dropped off the snowboarder at Providence hospital, our crews came back to JBER to refuel, and our PJ team refitted with dry suits and pack rafts in case they had to investigate in open water,” he said. “Once they got to the area where the mishap was reported, they saw four people walking about 4 miles from the aircraft, so they hoisted a PJ down to ask them if they were on the plane sinking in the ice, and they said, ‘Yes.’”
The PJs treated all four for different severities of hypothermia before hoisting them into the helicopter for transport to Providence.
Seibold stressed the importance of carrying communication devices into the Alaska wild that do not rely on cell tower coverage, which is sparse in Alaska.
“It’s critical to have some sort of self-contained reporting device, whether that be an InReach, an aircraft emergency locator transmitter, or any of the new smartphones offering over-the-horizon SOS that you can actually engage without cell service,” Seibold said.