Helicopter crew adds two more saves

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  A three person aircrew along with a flight surgeon nurse were dispatched from Malmstrom Nov. 20 after receiving a call from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center that two male snowmobilers had become stranded in deep snow near the Idaho border and rescue assistance was needed.

Aircraft commander/pilot for the rescues was Capt. Leo Gracik. He was accompanied by co-pilot Capt. Kurt Ponsor; flight engineer Master Sgt. Scott Andrews; and flight surgeon nurse Capt. Angela Ling.

The crew traveled nearly three- and-a-half hours to reach the stranded men who were nearing a hypothermic stage.

"It was below zero all night," Gracik said. "They had spent the whole night out there and were unprepared to actually spend the night in the elements. They were initially out for a couple-hour ride."

"They were out there 22 hours by the time we got to them," Andrews said. "It was causing problems with their own safety. By the time we arrived, they were burning pieces of their snowmobile in order to survive."

The Shoshone County Sherriff's Department had set up a ground search and was making an attempt to push in to those survivors, but they had gotten to a point where they couldn't proceed any more, Andrews explained.

"They knew we were coming but they were trying to reach them as well because the weather was not exactly favorable," he said.

The environment and the terrain were average and pretty typical, along the lines of what the members of the helicopter squadron train in, Andrews said. However, they encountered a significant weather challenge trying to circumnavigate the different weather patterns, he said.

"There was a lot of snow and very limited illumination," Andrews said. "The cloud cover eliminated virtually all of the moonlight. Even night vision goggles need some light to function."

The flight nurse also encountered some challenges as the snowmobilers were located in a creek bed that snaked back and forth.

"Trying to avoid running water that was under the crusted snow provided a significant challenge for her," Andrews said.

After nearly an hour, the two rescues had been executed safely; they were transferred to an ambulance and transported to local medical facilities for evaluation and/or treatment.

With the addition of these two saves, the 40th HS has now amassed 389 rescues.