3Ethan Russell
CRW1001
Short Story Assignment
Lifeline: A USCG Helicopter Rescue Story
"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is N37AK. We have a bird strike and engine failure. We are ditching. Location is 49 Degrees, 31 Minutes, 35 Seconds North, 161 Degrees, 52 Minutes, and 41 Seconds West. Send help, over!" After putting out the distress transmission, pilot Jonathan Kalio attempted to calm his 8 passengers and 1 crewmember. The small Cessna 208 Amphib seaplane had lost its engine and was gliding to the water. "It's gonna be a rough landing, so get your vests on and brace for impact. Kate, grab that liferaft canister and get it ready please. Oh, and gather all the survival gear you can. Then sit down and brace."
At Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, the crew of MH-60T Jayhawk tail number 6094 were sitting around a table eating breakfast. Lieutenant Commander Davis Lukan laughed along with the rest of the Coasties at a joke AST3 Jaylen Riggs had made. AMT2 Greg Lyle said "That's good, Jaylen. But I got one too." However, before the flight mechanic could make his joke, the SAR alarm suddenly sounded. "Now put the ready MH-60 on the line, private aircraft ditching at 9 Degrees, 31 Minutes, 35 Seconds North, 161 Degrees, 52 Minutes, and 41 Seconds West. Conditions are reported to be 15-20 foot seas, and 50 MPH winds. Aircrew of 6094, report to Ready Room Four for pre-flight." The Coasties at the table fist-bumped the four helicopter crew before the Jayhawk team ran to put their gear on and get briefed.
The Operations Officer was waiting in Ready Room Four, and without delay began the briefing. "Here's what we know. Multiple vessels have reported hearing a mayday call from a private aircraft. A second call came in a couple minutes after the first. This one shows that the aircraft has 10 people aboard and is a Cessna 208 Amphibious. Seas are quite rough as the remnants of that big storm, Harry or whatever it was called, are still lingering. This is out of your normal range, so we will call ahead to United States Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, USCGC Alex Haley, and all nearby oil platforms for refueling spots. 6094, Semper Paratus!" "ALWAYS READY!" The H-60 crew members roared.
Davis motioned for his crew to get to the bird, and said he'd follow in a second. Once the other three Coast Guard crew were out of earshot, Davis asked the Ops Officer, "Are you sure we can do this? This might be beyond our capabilities. Elmendorf Air Base got some new choppers with aerial refueling, why aren't they being tasked?" Ops Officer Kylo Skua sighed, and said, "Elmendorf doesn't wanna risk their new HH-60Ws on a civil rescue. With tensions heating up in the Pacific and with Russia, they want their helicopters ready for combat. I tried to talk them out of it, but their CO hung up on me so it's all on you. If you think you can't do it, I will back you all the way. But if you can do it, try. That's all I'm asking. For you to try and save those 10 people."
Davis lowered his head for a second, thinking intently. Then, he looked up with fiery eyes. "Yes sir. We will get them. You can count on 6094 to get the job done." Then, he turned and sprinted to the Jayhawk sitting on the tarmac. Copilot Alvin Deeno had already gone through the checklist, and the rotors were turning when Davis climbed into the right seat of the cockpit. "Let's rock n roll!"
Aboard the Cessna, things were getting dire. The plane was accelerating downward faster and faster thanks to a tailwind, and without the engine, Jonathan was having trouble slowing the plane. Suddenly, the aircraft punched through the clouds and everyone on board saw the stormy sea, approximately 500 feet away. Jonathan hit the intercom, yelled "BRACE, BRACE, BRACE!" and yanked up on the control stick, trying to level the plane out. The passengers quickly assumed the Brace for Impact position, and Jonathan, seeing the ocean growing ever closer, pulled even harder on the stick and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping for a miracle.
The aircraft hit the water hard, and multiple passengers suffered injuries. Jonathan hit his head on the control panel and saw stars. He quickly came to as water began to enter the Cessna. He slammed the emergency release for all exits and quickly made his way out of the cockpit. He saw a horrifying scene in the cabin. Passengers were scattered, having been thrown and severely injured. He and Flight Attendant Kate Lutherford quickly tossed the liferaft out, tied the painter line to the plane so it wouldn't float away, and threw what little survival gear remained into the raft. Then, both pilot and attendant began to help the injured and traumatized passengers into the single eight-person liferaft. Once everyone was inside, Kate hopped in, helped Jonathan, and slit the painter, letting the raft float free. Then, she activated her personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. She began to encourage the 9 survivors. "The Coast Guard got our call, there's fishing vessels in the area, and my EPIRB is going off. We will be rescued, whether that's by air or sea. Hold on, they'll be coming for us!"
"COMMSTA Kodiak to Rescue 6094. We have an EPIRB hit in the immediate vicinity of the downed plane. Sending coords to you now. Over." "6094 to Kodiak, good copy. Received coordinates, plugging in. ETA to refueling point is about 2 hours." Suddenly, the MH-60T jolted sharply. Davis snatched a look at the instrument panel, and saw the tail rotor de-ice caution light had illuminated. He got on the comm and said, "We have a tail rotor de-ice caution light, and we may not reach the cutter to refuel. Do we press on or do we cut our losses and head back?"
Rescue Swimmer Jaylen Riggs quoted a slightly adjusted movie line. "Well when we go home, they die, Lukan." Flight mechanic Greg Lyle cut in. "I say we press on. If we don't find the cutter before bingo fuel, we can return to base. But there are some drilling rigs in the area that should have avgas. We can stop at one of them if needed. The closest is Rig 107. I can hail them now if you want." Davis ordered, "Do it." Then, he turned his attention back to flying.
In the cabin, Greg got onto the radio and called the Drilling Platform. "Drill Rig 107, Drill Rig 107, this is Coast Guard Rescue 6094. We may need to land at your platform and take on fuel. Do you read me, over?" The comms officer on the oil rig called for the rig commander. "Captain, I just got a call from a US Coast Guard helicopter. They say they need to land and take on fuel. What should I tell them?"
The captain made a slit-throat motion and said, "Winds are too strong. There's no way they'll be able to land safely, much less get fueled up. Tell them no." "Rescue 6094, this is 107 Comms. Negative on landing. Too much risk to you and us. Find another spot to refuel. Out." Greg was slightly shocked, but said over the ICS, "Rig 107 won't allow us to land. Claims it's too risky." Davis growled, "Let me talk to them." Greg gave him the channel and callsign, before turning back to mundane duties. "Rig 107, Rig 107, this is Rescue 6094. Let me tell you why we are out joyriding in this mess. A privately owned plane with 10 people aboard just ditched about 45 minutes ago. I'm assuming you know how long a person can last in these conditions. We were sent out here to rescue those poor souls in the water, who are hoping for a miracle. God help you and your conscience if your small minded self is the reason 10 people, ten mothers, fathers, daughters, or sons, perish in the Bering Sea. Now, will I have to tell those people in the water, "Sorry, our refueling base was closed and we can't help you," or will you let us take on fuel? What's it gonna be?" The rig commander, overhearing the conversation, was torn between his rig's safety and the safety of the people the Coasties were trying to save. He said to the radio operator, "Give me the mic." The commander called the H-60 back and said, "Fine. Bring your helicopter in. Homing beacon will be turned on and the pad will be lit. However, if you screw this up and crash, your butt, not mine, will be the one on the line." Davis spat, "Loud and clear, sir." He flicked through the direction-finder's channels, waiting for the homing beacon on the rig to appear. Once the beacon was located, the autopilot was turned on again and the orange and white helicopter roared through the dark and turbulent sky towards the oil rig.
Ten minutes later, the call came up from the cabin. "Tally-ho!" The rig was in sight. The helipad was small and swayed violently with the platform. However, the Coasties were determined to do this mission. Davis looked out through the chin bubbles as he maneuvered the Jayhawk toward the pad. When it looked like he was right overhead, he pushed the collective down and the chopper set down with a hard bump. He looked back at the ashen-faced cabin crew and grinned. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one, right?" Within five minutes the fuel tank was three-quarters full. After another two, Greg got out and made the cut-throat signal, telling them to stop the flow. The refueling team leader yelled over the blades, "Go get 'em! And come back safe!" Greg saluted and shut the cabin door. "Cleared for takeoff, sir."
At the ditching scene, conditions were abysmal. The raft was filling with water, supplies were running low, and people were dying of the cold one by one. Jonathan, shivering and barely coherent, asked Kate "Is your EPIRB still working?" Kate didn't answer, her head cocked to the side. She was in the best condition, and thought she heard helicopter rotors. The noise grew louder, and Kate smiled widely. Turning to Jonathan, she said, "There's your answer." The flight attendant brought out their last flare, and launched it.
"Mark, mark, mark!" Jaylen shouted. "Flare, left side!" Davis reacted quickly, swinging the big helicopter around and flying towards the red floating light. Greg said over the ICS, "Opening cabin door, beginning checklist for a hoist deployment of rescue swimmer to the water." Aviation Survival Technician Jaylen disconnected from the ICS, switched into her neon helmet, put her fins on, pulled gloves over her hands, and lowered her snorkel and mask. She moved to the door, and waited. "Swimmer's at the door and ready." Greg reported. Davis ordered, "Check swimmer and deploy." "Checking swimmer. Swimmer looks good, moving out of the cabin now." Once Jaylen was outside, Greg began to conn the pilots. "Forward 5. Hold, hold, hold. Swimmer is halfway down. Left 10, back 5. Good, now hold. Swimmer's in the water. Bringing hoist up. Hold." Once in the ocean, Jaylen disconnected from the harness and kicked her way to the raft. She arrived at the side, unzipped the entry flap, and as 4 soaked, terrified people watched her in awe, she said, "Hiya, I'm Jaylen. Heard you all needed a ride outta here." Kate pointed at Jonathan, and said, "He's first." Jaylen nodded and reached into the raft, and with Kate's help, maneuvered the pilot out of the raft. Yelling over the sound of the helicopter, she told the three others to wait. Holding onto Jonathan's body with one hand, she expertly swam to the helicopter, and raised both arms, the signal for the rescue basket. Greg attached the mesh wire basket to the hook and said, "Basket's outside the cabin door and going down. Hold, hold! Basket is in the water. Hold it here, good." Jaylen put the Cessna pilot into the basket, and shot the flight mech a thumbs up. "I have the ready for pickup signal. Basket's coming up, clear to move back and left. Basket and survivor are at the door, bringing them in. Basket's on its way down." Jaylen repeated this for the next two survivors, a teenage boy and an older man. Jaylen signaled for the strop, a double pickup harness. "We're going up together! Keep your hands by your side." Kate nodded, and Jaylen began to knife through the water towing her. As they arrived at the strop, Kate asked, "What about the dead?" Jaylen sighed, and said, "We have to leave them. If we stay much longer, we'll be back in the water, all of us." Once they were inside the H-60, Greg slammed the door shut and said, "Cleared for forward flight." As the nose of the MH-60T lowered and the helicopter sped away from the scene, co-pilot Alvin exclaimed, "I got Ingham on radio!" Davis said, "How far out are they? Can we make it to them?" Alvin did some mental calculations, and said, "They're just inside our fuel limit. It'll be close, but I think we can make it. Sending the coordinates now." Davis plugged them into the autopilot, turned it on, and sat back. Alvin called the cutter and gave them the briefing. "Ingham Command, this is Rescue 6094 out of Kodiak. We have 4 survivors on board. We are about an hour away. Once at your position, we will be fuel-critical. We will have to set down on your helideck. Do you copy, over?" In the Combat Information Center aboard CGC Ingham, everyone heard the call. The SAR officer on the Heritage Class cutter said, "6094, I read you. You are cleared in whenever you arrive. Medical will be standing by." 45 minutes passed, and Davis saw the outline of the cutter through his NVGs. "Tally-ho!" SAR officer Lincoln Cole said. "Rescue 6094, you're out of limits but clear to land." Inside the MH-60, Davis carefully lowered the Jayhawk down onto the deck, and hooked up to the latch in the middle of the helipad. Medical personnel ran out and greeted the survivors. Jaylen briefed them and walked back to the Jayhawk. She asked over the ICS, "We going back to Kodiak?" Davis said, "I talked to the COMMSTA and we agreed its best to stay here until this storm abates enough. Captain's gonna find us some rooms. Everyone, I want you to know I'm extremely proud to have you as my crew. Bravo Zulu, 6094!"