Combat King. Together these aircraft were capable of conducting in-flight refu- eling, effectively giving the MH-60 a range based not on fuel capacity but rather on mechanical and physiological limita- tions. The day after the sinking of the Sal- vador Allende, two MH-60s, Jolly 14 and Jolly 08, were launched from Gabreskie under the command of the senior pilot Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Ed Fleming. Fleming was a veteran of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, who had spent 24 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard flying helicopter rescue missions. How- ever, even he had never attempted a mis- sion like the one he was about to set out on that morning in December. The two MH-60s would be accompanied by three refueling tankers belonging to the Air Force, Air National Guard and Marine Corps Reserves. These C-130s would take turns not only watching over the hel- icopters, but more importantly supplying the fuel that would make this long distance rescue mission possible. After flying 500 miles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the crews stopped to prepare for the remainder of the
mission. The original plan was to fly for five hours to the location of the estimated 17 survivors. The survivors and their lo- cations were being monitored by Canadian and American fixed-wing aircraft. Once on scene, the helicopters would retrieve the survivors and return to Halifax. If all
went according to plan, the total trip would take around ten hours, which was the maximum amount of time that the MH-60s were capable of flying before needing maintenance checks. Once the Pavehawks got on scene, the aircraft mon- itoring overhead reported that the position and number of survivors were unknown. Upon hearing this, LtCol Fleming and the Pavehawk crews could have turned back but elected to commence a search of the Salvador Allende’s debris field. Eight hours into the flight one of the crew mem- bers in Jolly 14, Tech Sergeant Rich Davin, spotted a survivor. Davin directed LtCol Fleming into place and then pararescue jumper Jim Dougherty jumped out of the helicopter to rescue the survivor, a man named Alexander Taranov. After retrieving Dougherty and Taranov, both helicopters continued to search for sur- vivors. At one point they found a life raft from the Salvador Allende but none of the other crewmembers were located alive. Having flown for over 10 hours and still needing to get their survivor medical at- tention, Jolly 14 and Jolly 08 along with their C-130 escort departed the debris field for Halifax. In all, the two helicopters flew for 15 hours to rescue Alexander Taranov. With the help of the three C-130s, the helicopters aerial refueled 8 times over the course of the mission. The mission set a new endurance record for a helicopter rescue. Only one other survivor
30 March 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
