Thu, May 07, 2009
CAP, USAF Pararescue Bring Closure To Search For Missing
Motorglider
We don't think about this kind of tough task much... but we
should. Four helicopters and 24 Airmen from the 58th and 66th
Rescue Squadrons were deployed last week to assist in the search
for a pilot and passenger who were aboard a motorized sailplane
that disappeared from radar April 24 in the Sierra Nevada Mountain
Range near Mammoth Lakes, Calif. On May 1st, an HH-60G Pave Hawk
rescue crew from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., found the wreckage of
the overdue Taifun 17E motorglider in the Sierra Nevada Mountain
Range.
The missing aircraft was the subject of the large-scale search
by state officials and Civil Air Patrol members, but there were no
survivors from the wreckage. The couple was reported overdue when
they failed to arrive in Modesto, Calif. on a flight from Tonopah,
Nev. The Civil Air Patrol was activated by the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center and a full scale search was initiated April
25.
Over the next week, more than 200 Civil Air Patrol members from
throughout California and Nevada flew more than 150 missions in
support of the search. They were joined by helicopters from the
California National Guard at Moffett Federal Airfield and personnel
and aircraft from the 58th and 66th Rescue squadrons.
Search crews had to endure high winds, treacherous terrain and
altitudes as high as 17,500 feet during flights over the search
area. High-altitude flight requiring the use of oxygen provided
additional operational and logistical challenges.
The Mono County Sheriff's Office was involved from the start,
and the California Emergency Management Agency staff was
instrumental in marshalling local and state assets for this
search.
Officials from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center
requested the assistance of the Nellis AFB Airmen and aircraft May
1,and within an hour of arriving on scene, the search ended when an
HH-60G aircrew spotted and positively identified the missing
aircraft. [ANN Salutes 1st. Lt. Matthew Scherzi, Civil Air Patrol
California Wing]
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