Air Force rescues Navy crew from damaged helicopter in California desert

U.S. Air Force crews in two HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada rescued five crew members from a disabled Navy helicopter last week near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center received a report at 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 10 about a Navy MH-60S Seahawk disabled from a hard landing in mountainous terrain during a high-altitude training mission, according to a service news release.

The 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron assigned a pair of HH-60Ws in less than 30 minutes.

The crews departed Nellis near Las Vegas at 1 p.m. By 3 p.m., the rescue crews established two-way radio contact and visually identified the crew of the disabled aircraft.

Capt. John Howe, 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) combat rescue officer, led the pararescue team that deployed to the landing zone to assess the survivors and confirmed that no one was injured.

After evaluating the situation on the ground, the team made the call to have the Air Force helicopters reposition to a closer landing area, minimizing further physical exertion for the Navy personnel.

Lt. Col. Kenneth “Buddy” Wilkins, 88th TES commander and lead flight on the rescue, said the team was able to appraise the situation.

“It was a good call by the team getting on the ground,” Wilkins said.

The rescue team was able to make an assessment that the helicopters had enough power to get the Navy crew out of the mishap site.

The HH-60Ws successfully extracted all five sailors by 3:50 p.m., transferring them safely to their unit’s ramp at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake before returning to Nellis.

Wilkins credited maintenance crews with rapidly getting the two rescue helicopters ready to go.

“This mission was a really good example of us taking the lessons learned from those previous events and executing as quickly and efficiently as possible” Wilkins said. “Within five minutes, I knew we had tails. Within 30 minutes, they were ready for us to go out.”

Howe said it was a chance to put their training to the test in a real life scenario.

“The ability to have that impact is fulfilling,” Howe said. “That is why people join these career fields — because they want to have an impact and they want to be able to be there for their fellow service members in a time of need.”