CAMP DENALI, Alaska—Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons rescued a pilot involved in a plane crash near the Bering River March 27.
The 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center was notified at 3:45 p.m. by the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Air Control Squadron that a distress signal or “7700” transponder emergency call was picked up by a 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron E-3 AWACS on a training mission.
Simultaneously, Juneau Flight Services was tracking a Piper PA-18 Super Cub travelling 40 nautical miles northeast of Cordova, when it received an inflight emergency call from the pilot before losing radio contact.
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Juneau Flight Services immediately contacted the U.S. Coast Guard RCC in Juneau, who relayed the information to the 11thAir Force RCC. Because of the location of the incident and proximity of the Alaska Air National Guard to the last known location, the 11th Air Force RCC took control of the mission.
“The Coast Guard asked us to respond because our assets were an hour closer to the distress call and we could provide a rapid response,” said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Carte, superintendent, 11th Air Force RCC. “The 176th Air Control Squadron was able to quickly provide us the data points and coordinates from the 7700 transponder distress call the AWACS picked up, and we notified the search-and-rescue duty officer of the mission.”
The search-and-rescue duty officer accepted the mission, and notified the 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons at 3:50 p.m. of the situation. At 5:25 p.m. an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter and HC-130 “King” aircraft were airborne and enroute to the pilot’s last known location.
Utilizing the information from Juneau Flight Services, U.S. Coast Guard, the 176th ACS and E-3 AWACS, the Alaska National Guard’s rescue personnel were quickly able to locate a crash site.
“This was a total joint effort,” Carte said. “But because the AWACS crew was on top of it and able to provide data points to the 176th Air Control Squadron with pinpoint accuracy, our rescue assets flew directly to the site.”
The HC-130 was first on the scene at 5:50 p.m. and immediately was able to spot the PA-18 Super Cub and pilot near the Bering River one mile inland from the mouth.
“The HC-130 established an orbit around the crash scene and made a package drop out the back of the aircraft,” Carte said. “The package was dropped near the aircraft, with a radio inside, allowing them to reestablish communications with the pilot.”
A short time later, the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter made it on scene and was able to land near the crash site. Guardian Angels with the 212th Rescue Squadron assessed the pilot’s conditions of minor injuries and loaded him onto the helicopter before transporting the pilot to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
“The combination of all the agencies involved, along with the radio call, quick thinking and ability of the pilot to dial in the emergency code 7700 on his transponder, really sped up the response to the rescue,” Carte said. “It couldn’t have turned out any better.”
The Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons were awarded one save for this mission.
