California Air Guard scores – again

The California Air Guard 129th Rescue Wing came through in a big way last week on the 16th for a woman who was sick on a cruise ship.

100 miles off-shore.

In rough seas, at night.

In a fog bank.

The 129th aircrew and pararescue team got the call that someone on a cruise ship more than 100 miles off the coast needed an emergency medical evacuation late on Dec. 16. A 79-year-old passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, more than 100 miles off\shore, was reported unresponsive, according to the Air National Guard.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center received the call and sent word to the 129th, which alerted the crew of HC-130 Combat King II that was already airborne on a training mission.

The HC-130, ironically (at least numerically) of the 130th Rescue Squadron, flew 130 miles southwest of San Francisco to the ship, the Ruby Princess.

While the HC-130 was getting eyes on the ship, the crew and HH-60W rescue helicopter from the 129th Rescue Squadron took off from Moffett Federal Airfield, just outside San Jose. The crew included three pararescuemen from the 131st Rescue Squadron and their extensive medical kits.

It was the middle of the night and a heavy layer of fog cut visibility, made worse by a nearly moonless night. The Ruby Princess was lit up, but flying out to it was tricky. The helicopter crew flew using night vision goggles, navigating the HH-60W through heavy winds to get to the ship in the early hours of Dec. 17. Photos shared by the California Air National Guard show the cruise ship’s light casting an unearthly glow through the fog.

Thought you’d appreciate the view of the ship from the chopper, above.

“The mission was approved as a ‘high-risk’ mission going out the door, which is pretty rare for us,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Ben Copley, a helicopter pilot with the 129th Rescue Wing. “This person was probably going to die today if they didn’t get picked up.”

“We trained to find the boat. We trained to shoot an approach, to hold a stable hover, to hoist the PJs off the boat. We trained to do it all on night vision goggles,” Copley said. “We don’t train to do it inside a fog bank.”

After reaching the ship, the helicopter flew low over it, hoisting the pararescuemen onto the ship. The pararescue crew spent about an hour performing initial treatment on the woman and preparing her for the flight home, which included a hoist off the deck up to the hovering helicopter. The crew then flew to San Jose to take her to a hospital.

This is actually the second time in four months the same unit has had to fly to the same cruise ship – in August they, along with Canadian elements, air lifted two passenger from 140 miles off Washington state. Someone’s going to have to break it to the Ruby Princess that this sort of thing does NOT get you frequent flyer miles.

Rough seas, winds, poor visibility, 100 miles offshore.

Need some heavy-lift equipment to lift all those giant brass – well, you know.

Category: Air National Guard