Alaskan Coast Guards On the Mend After Downed Jayhawk Flight

The Coast Guard recovered its downed MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter on Alaska's Read Island after nearly a month, putting a cap on an unfortunate end to a stressful rescue mission.

The aircraft had been responding at 23:05 to a flooding fishing vessel, the Lydia Marie on November 13th, 2023. In an ironic twist, the vessel was the one to report the crash to Coast Guard watchstanders. The aircraft had 4 crewmen aboard when it went down. Their rescue took more than an hour to get to the crash site, with Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Petersburg Fire and Rescue arriving on scene at 00:50. They managed to provide emergency care to 2 seriously injured crewmen until the second Jayhawk arrived at 01:39. It hoisted all 4 patients and brought them to Air Station Kodiak, where they were loaded onto a C-130 for transport to Seattle, Washington for improved care.

Ultimately each of the 4 crewmen have been released from medical service, with all apparently on the mend.

“We are grateful our four crewmembers were released from Harborview Medical Center and are on the road to recovery,” said Coast Guard Capt. Brian McLaughlin, head of the Crisis Action Team, who led recovery efforts. “We are also incredibly thankful to the many people and organizations who helped us recover the aircraft. Getting the helicopter to where our investigators can better examine the wreckage is the next step in the ongoing investigation.”

The investigation remains ongoing, with neither conjecture nor detail available at this time.

FMI: www.uscg.mil