News>Moody aircraft conduct civil search and rescue; rescue one individual
Photos
Master Sgt. John Buckler, 41st Rescue Squadron flight engineer, verifies the maintenance forms on an HH-60G Pave Hawk as he prepares for a civil search and rescue mission Sept. 20. Three Moody aircraft supported the rescue mission in the Gulf of Mexico, rescuing one individual. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Angelita M. Lawrence)
Moody Airmen prepare a litter for a real-world mission Sept. 20. Three Moody aircraft from the 23rd Wing supported the rescue mission in the Gulf of Mexico, rescuing one individual. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Brittany Barker)
Capt. Paul Sheets, 41st Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk pilot , briefs aircrews during a real-world rescue mission Sept. 20. Three Moody aircraft supported the mission in the Gulf of Mexico, rescuing one individual. (U.S. Air
Force photo by Senior Airman Angelita M Lawrence)
9/27/2007 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Three Moody aircraft supported a civil search and rescue mission in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, rescuing one individual.
The 23rd Wing received a request for assistance from the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., after initial search efforts to find a boat with two passengers, which had been missing since Tuesday afternoon, were unsuccessful. The boat was last seen on the Steinhatchee River in Florida.
The wing immediately responded with an HC-130P and two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters with pararescuemen crews on board. After approximately four hours of searching the area, an HH-60 crew and pararescuemen rescued one survivor in the Gulf of Mexico, 60 miles off the Florida coast. The survivor was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla.
The survivor, who was spotted with the stranded boat, reported the other individual had left the boat to swim for a buoy on Wednesday. The condition of that individual is unknown.
"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers remain with the friends and family of the individual who is still missing," said Col. Kenneth Todorov, 23rd Wing commander. "Moody Airmen stand ready at all times to answer the nation's needs, whether it's over Iraq and Afghanistan, or conducting civil search and rescue missions here at home."
