Made Four Flights, Rescued 282 People

In a ceremony held at the Sikorsky Aircraft booth on the floor of the HAI Heli-Expo 2006, Sikorsky recognized Lt. Mike Rasch and Petty Officer 1st Class Jon Schroeder, two of the many courageous crewmen and women of the United States Coast Guard who helped saved thousands of people stranded by Hurricane Katrina.

As the floodwaters surged in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Region, US Coast Guard helicopters were the first on the scene. At the height of the relief effort the Coast Guard had more than 50 percent of its operational H-60 Jayhawk fleet involved in Katrina operations. Jayhawk helicopters from as far away as Cape Cod, MA and aircrews from as far away as Kodiak, AK participated in the heroic rescue effort.

In total, the Coast Guard’s Jayhawk fleet and their crews flew more than 800 hours and saved more than 2,500 lives.

Rasch and Schroeder were stationed in Mobile, AL when the storm hit the Gulf Coast. Together they headed their Jayhawk helicopter into the heart of New Orleans around midnight after the storm struck. Operating in complete darkness in a city without power, they managed to circumnavigate numerous hazards and save more than 50 people from the still flooding waters. In all, Rasch’s crew made four flights and saved 282 people.

As tokens of the company’s appreciation, Sikorsky Aircraft President Steve Finger presented Rasch and Schroeder with two winged S statues, as well as a framed copy of Sikorsky’s newest ad featuring a Jayhawk helicopter hoisting a storm victim to safety.

Sergei Sikorsky, the eldest son of Igor Sikorsky and a Coast Guard veteran who took part in the development of the service’s rescue hoist during the 1940s, also took part in the ceremony.

FMI: www.uscg.mil, www.sikorsky.com