The HH-60’s crew and 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen rescued two victims of a Jan. 26 ultralight plane crash near Faro, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Alaska Air National Guard photo by David Bedard.
Story by Maj. David Bedard, 176th Wing
The Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing rescue two plane crash victims near Yukon Territory and six other people during four rescue missions in Alaska between January 26 to 31.
A 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk and a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King II, both with 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen (PJs) onboard, responded Jan. 26 to a crashed ultralight aircraft near Faro, Yukon Territory, Canada, about 550 nautical miles east of JBER and about 250 miles from the Alaska-Canada border.
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre-Victoria requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) at JBER who passed the request to the 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer. The SARDO ordered the launch of the two 176th Wing aircraft.
The HC-130J Combat King II flew ahead of the HH-60G Pave Hawk to conduct weather and route reconnaissance and used one of its two air-to-air refueling hose-and-drogue systems to extend the HH-60’s range.
Alaska Air National Guard Airmen of 176th Wing load a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, for a Feb. 5, 2025, transport to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
Alaska Air National Guard photo by Simon Blakesley.
The HC-130J Combat King II is the Department of Defense’s only dedicated fixed-wing combat search and rescue platform.
Equipped with a external rescue hoist and long-range internal fuel tanks, the HH-60G and the HH-60W are the DOD’s only dedicated CSAR helicopters.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk landed near the crash, and the PJs made contact with the plane crash survivors before loading them into the rescue helicopter for transport to Faro and handed them over to Canadian medical authorities.
At Faro, the crew discovered the HH-60G needed repair. Over the next several days, 144th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster IIIs flew to Whitehorse, about 120 nautical miles southwest of Faro, to ferry aircrew and 176th Maintenance Group Airmen. An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook helicopter, assigned to B Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, made the flight from JBER to Faro to bring 176th maintenance crews necessary parts. A regular Air Force C-12 Huron light passenger and cargo aircraft assigned to 517th Airlift Squadron also supported the repair.
Alaska National Guard photo by Simon Blakesley.
The HH-60G returned to JBER Feb. 6.
Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Tyler Seibold, 176th Wing SARDO, said a 210th RQS HH-60G aircrew was training near Figure Eight Lake Jan. 30 about 20 nautical miles west of JBER when they heard over the radio an aircraft was suffering an engine mishap. Seibold granted the crew permission to investigate, and they spotted a Piper Super Cub at the lake after the pilot safely landed the plane.
“The pilot was still troubleshooting the aircraft to see if it was airworthy,” Seibold said. “When he realized it wasn’t, he requested a ride.”
The pilot was released to Troopers.
Alaska Air National Guard photo by David Bedard.
The AKRCC received a report Jan. 31 from the Alaska State Troopers of a snowboarder injured in an avalanche at Turnagain Pass about 40 nautical miles southeast of JBER.
“We took off pretty quick, got to the site, and fortunately the good Samaritans on site and on snowmachines had already prepared a flat area on the side of the hill that PJs could hoist into and put their litter down, easing packaging the patient for hoist back into the helicopter,” Seibold said.
The AKANG HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew transported the hypothermic patient to Providence Alaska Medical Center helipad in Anchorage for transfer to medical officials.
“During the mission, we got reports of an aircraft sinking through the ice about 40 or 50 miles from where the HH-60 was at,” Seibold said. “Once they were airborne with the patient from that first mission, we retasked them to investigate this aircraft mishap.”
During the follow-on mission, the AKRCC periodically received updated information from tour helicopter pilots flying over the wreckage.
“The RCC did a lot of work to drill down into who’s plane it was, how long has it been missing, and figuring out how many people were onboard,” Seibold said.
Seibold said the rescue aircrew had to make a quick turn to rescue the plane crash survivors.
“After we dropped off the snowboarder at Providence hospital, our crews came back to JBER to refuel, and our PJ team refitted with dry suits and pack rafts in case they had to investigate in open water,” he said. “Once they got to the area where the mishap was reported, they saw four people walking about four miles from the aircraft, so they hoisted a PJ down to ask them if they were on the plane sinking in the ice, and they said, ‘Yes.’”
The PJs treated all four for different severities of hypothermia from mild to severe before hoisting them into the helicopter for transport to Providence.
Seibold stressed the importance of carrying communication devices into the Alaska wild that do not rely on cell tower coverage that is sparse in Alaska.
“It’s critical to have some sort of self-contained reporting device, whether that be an InReach, an aircraft emergency locator transmitter, or any of the new smartphones offering over-the-horizon SOS that you can actually engage without cell service,” Seibold said.
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