Long-Distance Rescue Took Place 130 Miles Offshore Of Brownsville, Texas

The Coast Guard medevaced one ailing crewman from an oil platform approximately 130 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, last Wednesday.

Coast Guard Eighth District command center watchstanders received a call at 4 p.m. from personnel aboard the Shell Perdido oil platform stating a 28-year-old crewman had suffered an allergic reaction. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. 

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched to assist.

The helicopter crew arrived on scene at 7 p.m., took aboard the crewman and transported him to Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport. Emergency medical services personnel then transported the patient to a local hospital in stable condition. 

The MH-65 Dolphin series has been in the Coast Guard’s inventory since 1984. The Coast Guard has been upgrading the helicopters with state-of-the-market enhancements that will extend mission capabilities and improve their reliability and maintainability. This conversion and sustainment project adds digital technology, including GPS and inertial navigation, flight control, weather radar and cockpit instruments. Since 2007, the entire fleet has been equipped with new engines that add 40% more power and airborne use of force capabilities, redesignating the aircraft MH-65s. Additionally, the Coast Guard is executing a Service Life Extension Project (SLEP) to extend the service life the H-65 Dolphin by 10,000 flight hours.

FMI: www.uscg.mil