Archive image: An Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron approaches during water rescue training in the Prince William Sound near Whittier, Alaska, May 16, 2024.
The Airmen of the 212th RQS are trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full-spectrum personnel recovery to include both conventional and unconventional rescue operations.
The 212th, along with the 210th and 211th RQSs, make up the 176th Wing Rescue Triad and are among the busiest combat search and rescue units in the world.
Alaska National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña.
Story by David Bedard, 176th Wing
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON (JBER), Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard 176th Wing HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew rescue six plane crash victims near Port Alsworth, about 160 nautical miles southwest of Anchorage. June 10, 2024.
The DHC-2 Beaver aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded area of the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve with six people on board, prompting the National Park Service to request hoist-capable helicopter support from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) at JBER.
An SOS from the pilot’s satellite communication device correlated with the Beaver’s 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter’s activation on impact, prompting the AKRCC to request support from the 176th Wing.
Alaska Air National Guard (AKARNG) Maj. Miles Brodsky, 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer, dispatched a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew with 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel personnel recovery Airmen.
On arrival, the HH-60G rescue helicopter inserted the Guardian Angels on the ground near the crash site. The GAs medically assessed two injured occupants and brought them and the four others onto the Pave Hawk rescue helicopter.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter aircrew transported the four uninjured people to Port Alsworth, where they were released to NPS Rangers, before flying the injured to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
Brodsky stressed the importance of upgrading from older 121.5-megahertz ELTs and keeping 406-megahertz ELT registrations current.
“The 406s give our search and rescue aircrews a far more accurate fix on the signal,” Brodsky said. “For aircraft owners who have a 406 ELT, it’s vitally important to keep the registration current so we have up-to-date aircraft information and we can call a good emergency contact.”
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