UPDATE: Fatal Mobile Bay crash of USCG helicopter

On 28 February, a US Coast Guard (USCG) MH-65C Dolphin helicopter, registration CG-6535, went down in Mobile Bay, Alabama, during a training flight, leaving one crew member dead and three missing.

A search for the missing coast guardsmen was launched with USCG aircraft and boats participating, along with other state and local resources.

The aircraft was quickly located and the deceased crew member was recovered.  He was named as Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge by the USCG.

On 1 March, the remains of two further crew members were recovered: Lt Cmdr Dale Taylor and Lt j.g. Thomas Cameron. Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight remained missing when active search and rescue operations were called off during the night of 1 March and salvage and recovery operations began.

Capt. Donald J. Rose, commander of USCG Sector Mobile, explained: “We saturated 95 per cent of Mobile Bay for nearly two days with both aircraft and boats to thoroughly cover the search area. The decision to suspend the active search was terribly difficult. Now, we must shift our focus to continuing salvage and recovery operations. As we continue to recover wreckage, we will look for the missing crewman.”

Coast Guard crews searched for 36 hours, conducting approximately 30 search patterns with track-line-search legs that covered 1,198 nautical miles within a search area of more than 200 square-nautical miles in an effort to locate the coast guardsmen.

Admiral Robert J. Papp, 24th commandant of the USCG, said a full investigation would be carried out to determine the cause of the accident.

Photo: Library image of a USCG MH-65C Dolphin helicopter, copyright USCG