Courtesy Photo | Crew chief, Sgt. 1st Class Tom Castillo, leads two hikers to a UH-60 Black Hawk...... read more read more
EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — The High Altitude Aviation Training Site launched a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of four to search for two missing male hikers at their last known location just below the summit of the Mount of the Holy Cross.
HAATS also transported civilian ground rescue teams to the site at approximately 13,500 feet.
The helicopter crew noticed a signal mirror at approximately 8 a.m., while inserting the second of two ground search teams.
Enroute to hover over the suspected area where the mirror was seen, the helicopter crew identified two distressed hikers. The crew was able to land safely and pick up the hikers a few minutes later.
The hikers were transported to the incident command post for hand off to Eagle County sheriff's office personnel. Their condition was reported as good.
The COARNG helicopter then returned to pick up the search teams.
The primary mission of HAATS is to train helicopter pilots how to conduct missions at high altitudes and continues to prove itself as an asset to the National Guard and the community it by the support it provides during emergencies such as this.
Colorado National Guard rescue efforts are coordinated through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. The center ties in to the Federal Aviation Administration's alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2009 16:58 |
| Story ID: | 37471 |
| Location: | EAGLE COUNTY, US |
| Web Views: | 270 |
| Downloads: | 260 |
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