Satellite Communications Save Fishermen’s Bacon

For the third time in less than two-weeks, U.S. Coast Guard personnel have rescued imperiled civilians in the vicinity of the Gulf of Alaska. 

On Tuesday, 05 July at 16:15 AKDT Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a report from an intermediary that a PA-18 Super Cub aircraft with two people aboard had crashed near the high tide line at Montague Island—a 305-square-mile island in the Gulf of Alaska at the entrance to Prince William Sound and the largest uninhabited island in the U.S.

The two survivors were communicating with the intermediary via InReach—a Garmin satellite communication platform hosted by the Iridium satellite network.  

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew forward-deployed to Cordova, Alaska, arrived on scene at 18:46 AKDT, landed near the crash site, embarked the two survivors, and transported them to Cordova, AK—a distance of approximately seventy-miles. The two people were reported to be in stable condition with no reported injuries. 

Chief Petty Officer Katie Brown—who serves as a command duty officer at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage—stated: “The quick response by the aircrew in Cordova helped these two get the help they needed. It’s incredible these two people made it out okay, and the fact that they had communication equipment readily available really aided in our response time.” 

The cause of the incident is under investigation. 

Sector Anchorage is the Coast Guard's largest sector in terms of geographic area, exercising authority in a jurisdiction extending throughout Western Alaska, the North Slope, and the Aleutian Islands through Prince William Sound.  Sector Anchorage has several subordinate units, which include Marine Safety Unit Valdez, several Marine Safety Detachments, several Cutters and an Aids To Navigation Team. Sector Anchorage’s missions include, but are not limited to: search and rescue, pollution prevention & response, waterways management, port security, vessel inspections, and investigations. 

FMI: www.uscg.mil