Alaska National Guardsmen rescue crash survivors
Alaska Air National Guard airmen from the 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons carried out the rescue of two civilians whose plane had crashed near Iron Creek, Talkeetna, Alaska, US on 1 July.
Alaska Air National Guard airmen from the 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons carried out the rescue of two civilians whose plane had crashed near Iron Creek, Talkeetna, Alaska, US on 1 July. An F-22 Raptor fighter jet that had picked up the survivors’ distress call transmitted a report to the 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (RCC), and ‘at that point’, said Senior Master Sgt Robert Carte, superintendent at the 11th Air Force RCC, ‘we began a thorough investigation’. “All military aircraft were accounted for, no civilian planes were overdue and no beacons had been reported,” he continued. “It was worth investigating, but we couldn’t correlate any other signs of distress in the state of Alaska.”
Later that day, the Federal Aviation Administration’s base at Anchorage reported that it too had picked up a mayday call on an emergency frequency, and reported back to the 11th Air Force RCC. Having ascertained that the call was coming from Iron Creek, airmen were immediately dispatched. An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter operated by the 210th Rescue Squadron and carrying a pair of Guardian Angels from the 212th Rescue Squadron launched from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, while a C-130 plane that had also picked up the mayday call remained at the scene for as long as its fuel supplies would allow, passing on weather reports and more detailed co-ordinate data. An HC-130 King plane from the 211th Rescue Squadron, also carrying two Guardian Angels, was also dispatched to assist, and to provide fuel and a communications relay.
After a while, contact was finally made with the survivors. “[They were] well-prepared,” said Senior Master Sgt Carte, “[and] indicated that they had spent the night in the aircraft after the crash. The pilot indicated he was intermittently switching on his 121.5 ELT, which is not something we recommend. It’s important that pilots leave the ELT on so rescuers have a better chance at locating them.”
The survivors, who were uninjured, were eventually taken onboard the HH-60 and transferred to Talkeetna.