Archive image: A U.S. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter aircrew assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, with U.S. Air Force pararescuemen assigned to the 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel, Alaska Air National Guard, evacuate a simulated casualty during the Joint Forces Demonstration at the Arctic Thunder Open House at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 8, 2026.
U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Connaher.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska. — An Alaska Air National Guard (AKANG) HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter aircrew from 176th Wing conducted the rescue of three victims of a plane crash (Cessna 180) near Bettles about 200 nautical miles northwest of Fairbanks. August 18, 2026.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) at JBER opened the mission after receiving a 406MHz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal from the crashed Cessna and requested support from the 176th Wing.
The 176th Wing search and rescue (SAR) duty officer dispatched a 210th Rescue Squadron Detachment 1 HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter aircrew with 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel Pararescuemen (PJs) onboard out of Eielson Air Force Base to respond.
Detachment 1 comprises a command element permanently assigned to Eielson AFB as well as pilots, special mission aviators and pararescue assigned at JBER.
Initially flying toward the coordinates from the 406 ELT, the HH-60W Jolly Green II aircrew received an updated location provided by a commercial two-way satellite communication device the occupants used to message a Bettles lodge owner who then passed the coordinates to the helicopter.
The rescue aircrew located the plane crash site, and hoisted the Guardian Angel PJs to the ground a short distance from the crash victims to avoid rotor wash. The pararescuemen packaged an acutely injured patient into a Stokes Litter before hoisting them into the HH-60W helicopter. The rescue aircrew then hoisted the other two crash victims for transport to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital where an ambulance was waiting at the helipad.
Seibold credited the party for having a SATCOM device because it can sometimes provide more accurate coordinates than a 406 ELT, allowing for the rescue aircrew to vector in on the patient’s location within a tenth of a mile rather than having to conduct a search spanning as much as a mile or more.
“It minimizes the time searching for someone in the Alaska wilderness,” Seibold said. “So, if their medical condition is dire, that is extra time that we can get treatment on the patient.”
Many of the devices also can rapidly send text messages when paired with a smartphone.
“If they still have battery power on their phone, they can message the Rescue Coordination Center,” Seibold said. “And sometimes we will have the PJs in the back of the helicopter start messaging and asking about patient status and the weather conditions on the ground.”
Seibold said, whether flying or hiking deep into the wilderness, it pays to be prepared.
“(The plane’s occupants) did everything they could by the book, and that really cut down on how long it took us to get to them and get them to a higher level of medical care,” he said.
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