According to a press release from NAS Fallon, a Navy MH-60 Knighthawk helicopter from Naval Air Station Fallon crashed near Mt. Hogue, Calif., late Friday afternoon around 5 pm while conducting search and rescue (SAR) operations, but the crew couldn’t be safely rescued until Saturday afternoon. All four crewmembers survived the crash without injury and have been safely recovered. The cause of the crash is unknown.
FILE PHOTO – FALLON, Nev. (April 8, 2021) MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to the Longhorns of Helicopter Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadron
Zip Upham, public affairs officer for NAS Fallon said the aircraft, call sign Longhorn 02, was supporting Mono County, Calif., search and rescue efforts to locate a lost hiker in the rugged high-altitude terrain in the National Forest south of Boundary Peak, 120 miles south of NAS Fallon. He said the aircrew consisted of four personnel — a pilot, co-pilot, and two crewmen.
The crash site is at 11,700 feet above sea level in very rugged terrain. The crew was able to communicate to base and a rescue helicopter was sent from NAS Fallon but it was unable to effect a rescue, but were able to drop of an overnight kit to the survivors who spent the night on the mountain.
The crew were able to communicate following the impact, but spokesman Upham said a follow-on helicopter mission launched Friday evening was unable to retrieve them. An overnight kit was dropped to the survivors who spent the night on the mountain.
Saturday morning an additional MH-60, Longhorn 01, said the station’s spokesperson, took off from NAS Fallon, and it provided on-scene coordination although it could not affect a rescue. In the end it was a California Army National Guard CH-47 from the former Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento with superior high-altitude performance characteristics that delivered a ground SAR team to the crash site. The CH-47 returned to Mammoth Lakes for refueling and then returned to pick up the Longhorn crew around 2 pm.
The military is available to help in civilian rescue operations as long as it does not interfere with the primary mission.
Related
About News Staff
We work to provide daily news to all of the Eastern Sierra, in the tradition of Eastern Sierra News Service and the Sierra Wave. We bring you daily happenings, local politics, crime, government dealings and fun stuff. Please contact us."search" - Google News
July 18, 2021 at 12:58PM
https://ift.tt/3kvH64U
Navy helicopter from NAS Fallon on search and rescue mission crashed near Mt. Hogue, Calif., late Friday afternoon - Sierra Wave
"search" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QWB6Sh
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Navy helicopter from NAS Fallon on search and rescue mission crashed near Mt. Hogue, Calif., late Friday afternoon - Sierra Wave"
Post a Comment