Posted on 12/04/2007 12:49:44 PM PST by george76
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is searching part of Prince William Sound this morning for a LifeGuard helicopter that went missing last night en route to Providence Alaska Medical Center with a patient aboard, the Coast Guard said.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to launch a C-130 and a helicopter this morning to assist in the search...
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
The helicopter’s last known position was Esther Island in Prince William Sound, about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage...
A Coast Guard cutter left Cordova just before 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and was making its way through Prince William Sound, Rossetti said. The Coast Guard also had a C-130 transport plane and HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter standing by at Cordova.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WST_MISSING_HELICOPTER_AKOL-?SITE=AKFAI&SECTION=HOME
Not good. That’s a lot of territory to search.
Prayers up. Tonk ... a little help please.
It must be very foggy there.
I can not find a clear web camera picture...( or it could be my skills ? )
I don't think it's foggy. It's very cold, and the wind is blowing at between 50 and 75mph. If they were flying in the dark, they wouldn't be able to see mountains, etc. That area is known for very bumpy weather even on good days. Lots of mountains and desolate country.
bump
Keep the prayers up!
Did they ever find Hale Boggs or Nick Begich ?
.
Last contact was by Iridium phone 17 miles east of Whittier by the southern tip of Ester Island. No report of trouble at that time.
Does that imply "under water?"
Prayers sent...
Oh boy. Prayers up. Not a good situation.
Sorry this is happening up there. Prayers up.
thanks
Sending prayers. God keep the crew and passengers safe and the search staff’s eyes sharp.
Did the chopper have a 406 MHz ELT? Or was it on 121.5? 406 can be tied into GMDSS and Rescue 21 could find it in seconds if it were.
If so, and there’s no peep, it’s bad news.
Yes, dual ferquency. and still not a peep :(
Update 19:00 AKT
Via locaL MEDIA - USAF RCC reports “good” ELT hits (plural). They have dispatched a CG cutter and 3 fishing boats (?) to AO. They did not explicity state the ELT hits were from missing aircraft.
I would note most ELT TX can be manually activated - Irridium satphone use is funky in AK - dead spots (times not location) might explain lack of contact.
Local news also reports the chopper was equiped for night vision use and NODs were on board.
Pilot, 2 RN/crew and 1 PAX still reported as missing.
Vis has improved (18:30 AKT) to better than 1 mile - snow has stopped and LITE rain has started.
I’ll post more as I hear updates.
Still praying that they are down on a beach with mechanical problems.
Most of the chopper pilots I know what have found a beach and parked until the WX lifted. I hope that is the case here.
Since the CG has an area to search, we should know something before too late tomorrow. Sunrise ia about 09:30 or so AKST.
Prayers up!
The LifeGuard Alaska helicopter, which was heading from Anchorage to Cordova...
me too
R’uhR’oh.
Well, that’s not so bad. It appears as if they have a handle on it...
The RN that was aboard the chopper is my father-in-law. We are humbled by this experience because it reminds us that something can always happen at any time. We keeps ours heads high because we know him very well, and he is a strong and determined man; he knows what he wants and how to get it, he could be compared to grizzly adams living in a shack in the wilderness. He has a lot of experience and knowledge on survival up there, and because of all this I want to extend my comfort and reassurance of knowing that he is there doing everything he can to get through this challenge.
My wife’s and my thoughts were that he is throwing snowballs at polar bears for fun right now. We say that because we know him well enough to see that he will take a circumstance and turn it into as positive of an experience as possible.
Still he is family, and we love him and are concerned for his well-being.
We send our prayers and love,
Your son & daughter.
Wow, prayers for your family and your FIL!
Special prayers for John.
Update link in #37.
Time for prayers.
Searchers on Saturday afternoon found near Whittier helicopter debris and the body of one of four people missing since Monday when an air ambulance vanished over Prince William Sound, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The debris was in Passage Canal, which leads into Whittier. The body of John Stumpff, 47, of Sterling appears to have been washed up on shore near the debris, said Megan Peters, trooper spokeswoman. He was the nurse aboard the flight.
Still missing: pilot Lance Brabham, 42, of Soldotna; paramedic Cameron Carter, 24, of Kenai and patient Gaye McDowell, 60, of Cordova.
Our prayers for the families and thanks to the searchers.
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