JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 176th Wing rescued four people from an Aug. 30 plane crash at a Montague Island coastal sandbar about 60 miles southeast of Seward.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, or AKRCC, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, or JBER, opened the mission following receipt of a signal from an aircraft 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter registered to the owner of a Cessna 180.
The AKRCC requested assistance from the 176th Wing search-and-rescue duty officer, who dispatched a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter with 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen, also known as PJs, on board.
In addition to the 406 emergency locator transmitter signal, the party also used a consumer-grade two-way satellite communication device, which facilitated information flow with the AKRCC and helped get a more precise location for the crash site.
Because flying sand and beach debris were concerns, the HH-60 crew landed the helicopter at a safe distance, and the PJs made contact with the people who had extracted themselves from the seemingly undamaged but flipped-over Cessna.
The PJs fitted an occupant with a back injury with a vacuum splint and a cervical collar before packaging them into a Stokes litter for safe helicopter transport. The Jolly Green crew flew the patient and the other occupants to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, where they were released to civilian medical personnel.
AKRCC officials urge aircraft owners to keep 406 emergency locator transmitter registrations up to date and encourage pilots to bring an additional satellite communication device to expedite rescue operations.