Honorees Took Part In Training Exercise That Turned Real

When they went up that morning, it was supposed to be for a training exercise.

While preparing for participation in a statewide search and rescue training exercise April 28, four Georgia Civil Air Patrol members wound up being assigned a real mission when a Piper Tomahawk went missing.

With what little information was available, squadron members responded with two aircraft and began the search for the Piper that had disappeared the day before while en route from Hilton Head, SC to Cincinnati, OH. A search area had been narrowed to Dawson County in the North Georgia Mountains.

That afternoon, one of the aircrews located the wreckage on a ridge near Dawsonville. Ground search teams were quickly mobilized, but the pilot was deceased upon their arrival. No passengers were on board.

Unit Commander Lt. Col. Greg Clasen, Maj. Brett Slagle, Maj. Thomas McBroom, 1st Lt. Bob Johnson and former squadron member 1st Lt. Sam Levie (now on the Georgia Wing Headquarters staff) of the Peachtree City-Falcon Field Composite Squadron were each awarded the US Civil Air Patrol Find Ribbon given for "making a find (distress or nondistress) on a search and rescue mission."

FMI: www.gawg.cap.gov/GA116