USCG Updates USCG UPDATES Coast Guard Foundation honors Elizabeth City aircrew Article by LTJG Stephanie Younoung, USCG S tranded 350 miles from land, the Element Quest spent days being tossed about in ten-foot seas – rudderless and out of radio range. Without an EPIRB , the only hope for the three sailors aboard was that their satellite phone call was heard and passed on to the Coast Guard. It is hard to imagine the thoughts going through their minds when they first knew their call had been heard as they saw a Coast Guard rescue helicopter hovering above, but their rescue will be forever remembered thanks to the Coast Guard Foundation . Earlier this week, the Coast Guard Foundation honored the crew of CG-6034, the rescue helicopter that hoisted the Element Quest’s sailors to safety, at its annual awards banquet. The aircrew of LT Anthony DeWinter (aircraft commander), LT Thomas Huntley (co-pilot), Petty Officer 1st Class Edwin Hannah (rescue swimmer ), and Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Critchfield (flight mechanic ) pushed their Jayhawk helicopter beyond its limits and had to rely on their training, and the skills of b oth theNavy and other Coast Guard units to save the sailors aboard Element Quest. The search to find the proverbial “needle in a haystack” started when just days into a journey from Nova Scotia to Bermuda, the Element Quest encountered harsh Rotor Review # 111 Fall ‘10 The 6034 aircrew of LT Anthony DeWinter, LT Thomas Huntley, AST1 Edwin Hannah and AET2 Brandon Critchﬁeld, pose with their spouses in Times Square, New York, after being awarded the Foundation’s Award of the Year. Photo courtesy of LT Thomas Huntley, USCG. conditions and suffered significant damage that left her without steerage hundreds of miles offshore. Her crew radioed for help, but she was too far offshore for anyone to hear the call. In desperation, a sailor aboard the Element Quest made a satellite phone call to a friend and left a voice mail. The message was broken and barely readable but the end of the message was clear – “call the Coast Guard.” Watchstanders at the District 5 Command Center launched an HC-130 Hercules long-range search and rescue plane, but the aircrew had a massive search area from Nova Scotia to Bermuda. As the aircrew flew over the enormous search area, they heard a faint mayday call over VHF Channel 16. Using their direction finding capabilities, the aircrew flew directly over the Element Quest, 350 miles east 72 of Cape Hatteras, N.C. Finding the vessel proved to be only half the battle though, as the Hercules aircrew learned a sailor on board had a potential spinal injury. A MEDEVAC was needed, but due to the Element Quest’s distance offshore, it was outside the range a Coast Guard rescue helicopter can fly. As the Hercules stayed on scene, the Coast Guard coordinated with Naval 3rd Fleet Command to stop flight operations on board the USS Eisenhower , situated 175 miles offshore, so an MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter could land and refuel on the missile carrier’s deck. “A deck landing qualification is essential training for pilots, and most of the time it is on a Coast Guard platform,” said Huntley. “That training played dividends Continue on page 73