MALMSTROM AFB, Mont. --
A rescue helicopter crew from Malmstrom Air Force Base's 40th Helicopter Squadron flew two consecutive search and rescue missions May 25, leading to the successful recovery of two hikers from the Montana wilderness. The separate incidents are recorded as the squadron's 400th and 401st saves.
The first call came in at 12:11 p.m., when the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, notified the 40th HS that a 50-year old hiker had fallen while on the Bear Creek trail in the Bitterroot Mountains near Hamilton, Montana, and had a broken leg and ankle. The man was showing signs of shock and hypothermia, according to responders from various Ravalli County agencies already at the scene. An Emergency Medical Services Life Flight helicopter that had attempted to respond earlier could not land near the man because of the extremely rugged terrain of the area. The AFRCC determined that no other civil or government assets were available to assist the hiker, and that the 40th HS was the only resort for the rescue.
A UH-1N "Iroquois" helicopter from the 40th HS flying as call sign "Air Force Rescue 22" departed Malmstrom at 1:13 p.m. The crew on board was Capt. Jay Murnyack, aircraft commander; 1st Lt. William Lynn, co-pilot; and Tech. Sgts. Michael Duffney and Justin Nissen, flight engineers. Lt. Col. Ramon Yambo-Arias, 341st Medical Operations Squadron chief of aeromedical services, was the flight surgeon.
The 40th HS helicopters are equipped with a cable hoist that allows crews to lower and extract personnel while hovering over the topography. The helicopters are also equipped with forward-looking infrared cameras that can detect heat signatures and electronically search an area. These give Malmstrom's helicopters two search and rescue capabilities that are unique within the state.
Rescue 22 flew directly to the pick-up location, approximately 150 miles away from the base, where Yambo-Arias was lowered 150 feet to the injured man.
"It was a long hoist down onto steep, rocky terrain," Yambo-Arias said. "The civilian ground crew was absolutely wonderful assisting me across the rocky terrain, helping me to move the patient onto the Stokes litter, and other details that added up to a quick extraction."
The injured man, after being secured in the litter, was hoisted up to the helicopter and brought on board at approximately 4 p.m. The patient was then shuttled to the Missoula International Airport where he was transferred to an ambulance and taken to the St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula, Montana. Yambo-Arias accompanied the man all the way to the hospital's emergency room.
It was Lynn's first rescue mission, though he has been in the 40th HS for about a year. He said that it was exciting to be involved in the squadron's 400th save, and 'wonderful' to be part of a greater Air Force heritage.
"It feels absolutely outstanding," Lynn said. "A lot of the time when we're not training to do our nuclear security mission, we're training for an Air Force search and rescue mission. Rescue is a long-standing tradition in the Air Force."
The crew refueled in Missoula and returned to Malmstrom, landing on base at approximately 6:45 p.m. A second request for assistance had already been received, this time to rescue an injured avalanche survivor on Red Mountain near Butte, Montana. Complicating matters, the survivor was diabetic and had lost his insulin in the accident. Once again, the site was approximately 150 miles from the base. The crew determined that they were not fatigued from the first rescue and then prepared the aircraft and themselves for a second round.
"We train for this a lot," Nissen said. "It feels nice when we get to do it for real and go save lives."
Rescue 22 departed Malmstrom at 7:29 p.m., this time with Maj. Rhodora Beckinger, 341st MDOS flight missile medicine member, on board as the flight surgeon.
The crew arrived at the survivor's location at approximately 8:35 p.m. and established communication with the ground team that was near the scene. Rescue 22 located the hiker and reconnoitered the avalanche area in the fading sunlight before landing at the incident command post to pick up an emergency supply of insulin. The crew then flew to an outcrop on the mountain that was near the injured hiker, his two companions and their two dogs. The crew was cautious to prevent a second avalanche.
"It was definitely very challenging since this was a late mission and the rescue was after an avalanche," Beckinger said. "We had to have night-vision goggles as added life support gear."
Flight surgeons are also aircrew members, she said. As such, they maintain their currency and proficiency through training that includes search and rescue with hoist operations.
Beckinger, Duffney and Nissen walked a short distance to the survivors and stabilized the injured man. The crew was on-site for one hour. All of the survivors were extracted at approximately 9:30 p.m. without needing the hoist. They were flown to the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte where an ambulance was waiting to transport them to the St. James Hospital. Rescue 22 then returned to Malmstrom where it landed at 11:36 p.m.
"These guys train day in and day out for this kind of mission, and it's good to see it all come together," said Lt. Col. John Beuer, 40th HS commander. "I'm very proud of my guys."
The squadron is equipped with eight helicopters, he said. It currently has 18 pilots and 12 flight engineers.