Whidbey Island Rescue

Program Profile

Whidbey Island Rescue by Howard M. Cotlett

Navy Whidbey's Sikorsky S H - 3 D helicopter prepares to hoist an accident victim from a snowfield in the North Cascades in Western Washington state. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy) A e r o m e d i c a l helicopter rescue is not the first thing m o s t p e o p l e think of w h e n t h e y see the w o r d s , " U . S . N a v y . " Yet, for an often r e m o t e s e g m e n t of n o r t h w e s t W a s h i n g t o n state, helicopter rescue is exactly w h a t the U.S. N a v y m e a n s to h u n d r e d s of individuals a n d families in the area. A n d m o s t h a d n o t h i n g to do with ships or the sea. It all started back in 1972 at N a v a l Air Station W h i d b e y Island coincidentally a b o u t the s a m e time the first h o s p i t a l - s p o n s o r e d a e r o m e d i c a l helicopter a p p e a r e d in the United States in D e n v e r s o m e 1,400 miles away. The Air O p e r a t i o n s Officer for the base, located in the m i d d l e of Puget S o u n d s o m e 60 miles n o r t h of Seattle, h a d o b s e r v e d that his search a n d rescue (SAR) helicopter d e t a c h m e n t h a d little to do. S e l d o m did a n a v y airplane or ship find itself in n e e d of assistance, a n d as a result, helicopter crews whiled a w a y their time drilling proverbial "holes in the s k y , " p u n c t u a t e d with an occasional flight to take the admiral to a n o t h e r of the four n a v y bases in the area. N o w , a c o m m o n n a v y slogan specifies that "if it m o v e s , salute it; if it d o e s n ' t , paint it" gave w a y to a m o r e 18

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deliberate quest, a n d within a few short m o n t h s , a p p r o v a l s h a d b e e n o b t a i n e d to acquire three n e w l y - r e b u i l t CH-46D helicopters f r o m the Marine COrps. These 25-passenger, IFR l a n d - o r - s e a rescue p l a t f o r m s h a d b e e n u s e d extensively for t r o o p t r a n s p o r t and m e d e v a c in Viet N a m . A n d conditions at W h i d b e y required the best, m o s t versatile machine available. W h i d b e y Island is located in one of the m o s t unique parts of the country. The Island itself is s o m e 35 miles long with access b y the Deception Pass bridge from the n o r t h a n d the Mukilteo ferry to the south. A b o u t 30 miles to the n o r t h w e s t of the n a v y base is Victoria, British C o l u m b i a (Canada) with the San Juan Islands (there are a b o u t 100 of t h e m ) in b e t w e e n . Across P u g e t S o u n d to the w e s t is the O l y m p i c Peninsula, with the 8,000-foot O l y m p i c m o u n t a i n s a n d the jungle-like O l y m p i c rain forest, which a v e r a g e s 142 inches of rainfall annually. S o u t h of W h i d b e y Island, just b e y o n d Paine Field (where m o s t Boeing airliners are m a n u f a c t u r e d ) begins the Seattle m e t r o p o l i t a n area. Further south is Mt. Ranier, which at

14,410 feet is the tallest m o u n t a i n in the state. It should also be m e n t i o n e d that it is also an inactive volcano, one of several in the s a m e chain as Mt. St. H e l e n s which blew its top in 1980. C o n t i n u i n g a r o u n d the c o m p a s s , one finds the r u g g e d Cascade m o u n t a i n range, f a m o u s for all sorts of o u t d o o r activities which include kyak river-running, backpacking, and m o u n t a i n climbing. (It is the p o p u l a r i t y of, a n d u n f o r t u n a t e l y the h a z a r d of these latter activities that k e e p s N a v y W h i d b e y busy, but m o r e on that later). A n d on to the n o r t h e a s t is the N o r t h Cascades National Park, c o m p l e t e with its o w n volcanic Mt. Baker, which has b e e n o b s e r v e d s p o u t i n g s t e a m in recent years. It is in this realm of seawater, m o u n t a i n s a n d rivers that W h i d b e y ' s SAR helicopters h a v e created the m o s t active land-based navy rescue unit in the world. After obtaining the u p d a t e d helicopters a n d establishing a 24-hour rescue watch, the O p s boss contacted the c o u n t y sheriffs a n d hospitals in five adjacent counties a n d let t h e m k n o w of the n a v y ' s availability for civilian rescue assistance. Within days, the t e l e p h o n e started ringing.

Program W h i d b e y ' s SAR helos c o m p l e t e d 110 SAR missions d u r i n g their first twelve m o n t h s of duty. Ranging from the night landing on a glacier on nearby Mt. S h u k s a n to rescue a climber with a b r o k e n back to lowering a c r e w m a n on the w i n c h cable from a 200-foot h o v e r amid the Evergreens to pick up a stranded, inacessable river runner, W h i d b e y ' s rescues prove not to be boring. During one mission alone in the mid-1970's, more than 100 p e r s o n s were r e s c u e d from the h a z a r d created by record floods on the m a i n l a n d east of Whidbey. W i t h o u t hospital-based helicopters in the area (the nearest is in Portland, Oregon), n a v y crews also fly n e o n a t e s from the San Juan Islands into Seattle-area hospitals, r e s p o n d to missing backpackers in the Cascade wilderness, and pluck hapless sailors from o v e r t u r n e d boats in Puget Sound. D u r i n g m y visit to the SAR d e t a c h m e n t at W h i d b e y Island, Lt. Christian Cast, SAR Officer, i n f o r m e d me that the W h i d b e y SAR unit is the only n a v y unit that is involved in all three SAR c o m p o n e n t s - medevac, m o u n t a i n rescue a n d maritime rescue - in the world. Dressed in his "closed cellular f o a m " exposure suit, Lt. Cast was the second of a two-pilot crew on alert for SAR duty that day. His exposure suit, similar to a wet suit with ventilating zippers a n d n o m e x covering, is i n t e n d e d to protect its o c c u p a n t against the 45-degree (7 ° Celsius) waters of P u g e t S o u n d

Profile . . .

s h o u l d the helicopter take an unrehearsed bath. The curretlt SAR helicopter at W h i d b e y is a Sikorsky H-3D with a gross weight of 20,500 p o u n d s . In the n a v y fleet, it is usually b a s e d on an aircraft carrier a n d is used for anti-submarine patrol a n d " p l a n e g u a r d " missions. The latter refers to a continuous, low-altitude orbit near the carrier d u r i n g aircraft l a u n c h and recovery operations in case a crew goes into the water. W h i d b e y ' s seven SAR pilots rotate on a 24-hour d u t y shift c o m m e n c i n g at 0700 (that's seven AM for y o u landlubbers). Most military helicopters of this size are flown with t w o pilots (aircraft c o m m a n d e r a n d s e c o n d pilot) so each pilot averages one day in three on the SAR schedule. Most pilots at W h i d b e y have a c c u m u l a t e d e n o u g h experience to fly either position, a n d rotate every other shift. D u r i n g n o r m a l w o r k i n g hours, the n a v y crew is on a 5-minute s t a n d b y similar to their civilian hospital-helicopter counterparts. At other times, they r e s p o n d from h o m e , a n d are airborn within 30 minutes. Between SAR shifts, pilots work a n o r m a l 8-hour day (except weekends) in their primary administrative " d e s k job." SAR pilots in this unit have such desk a s s i g n m e n t s as Maintenance Officer, Quality AssUrance Officer, Aviation Safety Officer, etc. In addition to two pilots, the SAR helo carries a crew of three. The Crew Chief operates the winch hoist, u s e d

Pilots, aircrewmen and medics pose in f r o n t o f one of the rescue helicopters at N a v a l A i r Station Whidbey Island. ( P h o t o courtesy U.$. Navy) 20

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for m o u n t a i n a n d overwater rescues. The S w i m m e r , fourth m e m b e r of the team, j u m p s from the helo into the water or rides the hoist d o w n to assist the p e r s o n being rescued. Like the pilots, the a i r c r e w m e n rotate positions every other mission, as each is cross-trained as crew chief a n d swimmer. Each a i r c r e w m a n is also a helicopter mechanic - s o m e w h a t of a comfort to pilots to k n o w that the p e r s o n w h o screwed the rotor on is riding along with you! The last m e m b e r of the crew is a hospital c o r p s m a n w h o picks u p one shift a week from his n o r m a l duties at the base hospital. In the state of Washington, n a v y hospital c o r p s m e n are also required to b e c o m e certified as EMT's. At 0800 every day, the SAR crew c o n d u c t s a SAR briefing - a 15-30 minute meeting d u r i n g which current a n d forecast weather is reviewed, along with specific rescue techniques, crash procedures, a n d other e m e r g e n c y procedures. Such briefings keep the various m e m b e r s operating as a team, a n d tend to w a r d off complacency. In addition, a specific " e m e r g e n c y of the d a y " is discussed, with anticipated r e s p o n s e s a n d correct procedures. Keeping skills sharp, a " s y s t e m s check" is held at 0900 M o n d a y t h r o u g h Friday. This is a 1.0 to 1.3 h o u r training flight w h e r e all systems of the aircraft are checked, a n d the crew practices what it is trained to do including hoist rescues, o v e r w a t e r search patterns, e n g i n e - o u t takeoffs a n d landings, autorotations, a n d other systems e m e r g e n c y p r o c e d u r e s a n d the like. The unit has three H-3 helicopters. With one scheduled as the SAR helo, a s e c o n d ship m a y be s c h e d u l e d for an administrative flight or VIP duties. The third will usually stay w a r m in the h a n g a r while it receives maintenance. Each crew averages about 30 flight h o u r s per m o n t h a n d some 100 medevac, maritime SAR or m o u n t a i n rescues are flown each year. As h o s p i t a l - s p o n s o r e d aeromedical services are scheduled to begin in Seattle later this year, some of W h i d b e y ' s m e d e v a c missions will be lost to the civilian service. But due to the lack of civilian helicopter capabilities, w h a t the SAR unit does best will continue - overwater a n d m o u n t a i n search a n d rescue.