Fourteen Miles Through the Mountains, in February...

Twelve people from the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB (NM) made Air Force history recently with the recovery of a downed MH-53J Pave Low helicopter from the San Juan Mountains in Colorado.

The unprecedented operation, which began Feb. 9, was launched almost a month after the helicopter's hard landing during a civilian rescue operation near the city of Durango. The cause of the mishap is under investigation.

"This operation went as well or better than anyone could have expected," said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Self, the 58th Special Operations Group maintenance superintendent who managed the recovery operation. "Everyone, from our hand-picked team of dedicated crew chiefs to the contractors tasked to transport the damaged helicopter, deserve a pat on the back for their efforts. Not only did we retrieve a valuable and limited military asset during this operation, but we also did it in a way no one has ever attempted as far as we know."

The recovery operation's unique nature lies in its namesake, Bobsled, which describes in one word the method used to transport the helicopter from its month-long resting place in an isolated ravine to a staging area at the foot of the mountains.

Essentially, the helicopter was raised by a crane, placed onto a modified flatbed trailer that functioned as a sled and pulled 14 miles along a skid trail through the mountains. While that certainly makes the effort stand out from past aircraft recovery operations, it is the altitude and rugged terrain that presented the most obvious challenges.

"We exhausted [a particularly poignant word, at 9700 feet --ed.] virtually every other option to remove the helicopter," said Senior Master Sgt. David Haugh, a recovery team member. "The crash site's altitude of 9,700 feet elevation precluded us from lifting out the Pave Low with another helicopter because of the downed helicopter's size and the potential strain on the lifting helicopter's engines. The rugged terrain made removing it in a piecemeal fashion unfeasible."

Each member of the 12-man recovery team can vouch for the rugged terrain of which Haugh speaks. After rising at dawn and riding almost two hours in an all-terrain snow vehicle to get within a mile of the crash site, the team hiked back and forth along snowy, icy, occasionally muddy, and sometimes treacherous paths for more than week.

Once there, they had a mere six hours of daylight each day to work and to prepare the helicopter for transport, which included finding and gathering crash debris in waist-deep snow, removing rotor blades and fuel tanks and, with the help of a crane, lifting an 8,000-pound gear box from the downed 8600-hp Pave Low.

"The location, terrain and position of the helicopter presented its share of challenges, but overall I think the operation went quite well. It could've been much worse," said Master Sgt. Jackie Powell, lead maintainer for the recovery team. "The weather was very good for us except for one day of heavy snow, and, in the end, even that worked in our favor because it provided more traction for the bulldozers pulling the sled."

Powell, whose 12 years as a dedicated crew chief for MH-53Js made him the most experienced member of the recovery team, said this has been the most difficult and challenging of five recovery operations he has participated in, but it was perhaps the most rewarding as well.

"It's special to be a part of something that's never been done before, and I think the entire team knows and appreciates that," Powell said. "I picked these guys because of their ability, enthusiasm and work ethic. They didn't disappoint me. Each one of these guys worked unselfishly and with tremendous dedication to accomplish this recovery. I really believe that picking each of them was the best decision made during this entire operation."

Team members appreciated the opportunity as well.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance," said recovery team member Airman 1st Class Rocco Pietrofesa. "I gained some valuable experience that's going to help me throughout my career. I'm proud to be part of this team and to make such a great contribution to the Air Force."

The helicopter was transported to a staging area Feb. 22, so the recovery team members could continue their work on the damaged Pave Low helicopter before it begins its five-day trek across the country to the Naval Depot at Cherry Point (NC), where it will be salvaged and subsequently returned to Kirtland. 

[Thanks to Ron Gibson 58th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs; Air Education and Training Command News Service --ed.]

FMI: http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/MH_53J_M_Pave_Low.html