AlphaAlphaAlpha Posted May 11, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Not sure which ship this is, but this is the video of the US Air Force/CA ANG picking a passenger up off of a cruise ship about 300 miles off of San Diego, CA. Edited to add: Here is some info about the rescue: SAN DIEGO (AP) — The California Air National Guard has rescued a man who fell seriously ill on a cruise ship hundreds of miles off the coast. The agency says crew of the Holland America line's Westerdam contacted authorities for help late Saturday and changed course to reduce the distance to shore. National Guard aircraft reached the ship Sunday about 300 miles from Southern California. The 73-year-old passenger, who suffered kidney failure, was flown to a hospital in San Diego for further treatment. The National Guard crew was deployed from North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/national-guard-rescues-il_n_3222699.html?utm_hp_ref=ap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OVgirl Posted May 11, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks for posting this, very interesting watching the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mllewis48 Posted May 11, 2013 #3 Share Posted May 11, 2013 This was on the Holland America MS Westerdam on her return to San Diego from a 30 day Hawaii and South Pacific cruise. I was on that cruise and standing on the upper deck starboard side to watch the rescue. This was not US Air Force, in fact the helo looked strange and had hand painted lettering on the side, I originally thought it may be from Mexico. We heard that the passenger was suffering from heart failure thus requiring emergency evacuation. Interesting video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumsysailor Posted May 11, 2013 #4 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks for posting. Fantastic footage and great flying skill. What great lengths these people go to helping out someone in need. They deserve medals all of them. Mumsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted May 11, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks for sharing this. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scrapnana Posted May 11, 2013 #6 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Hope the passenger is recovering quickly. Thanks for posting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seago2 Posted May 11, 2013 #7 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Fantastic footage, thank you so much for this. Hope the ill passenger is recovering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted May 11, 2013 #8 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Not sure which ship this is, but this is the video of the US Air Force/CA ANG picking a passenger up off of a cruise ship about 300 miles off of San Diego, CA. Edited to add: Here is some info about the rescue: SAN DIEGO (AP) — The California Air National Guard has rescued a man who fell seriously ill on a cruise ship hundreds of miles off the coast. The agency says crew of the Holland America line's Westerdam contacted authorities for help late Saturday and changed course to reduce the distance to shore. National Guard aircraft reached the ship Sunday about 300 miles from Southern California. The 73-year-old passenger, who suffered kidney failure, was flown to a hospital in San Diego for further treatment. The National Guard crew was deployed from North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/national-guard-rescues-il_n_3222699.html?utm_hp_ref=ap Thank you for the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted May 11, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Fantastic footage!! Hope the passenger is all right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milvain Posted May 11, 2013 #10 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wow! What a scary job! I'm getting motion-queasy just watching it! Were those passengers on the top deck while it was buzzing so close or were they asked to stay below while the crew stood by? His family must've been frantic. Hope all is well now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted May 11, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 11, 2013 This was on the Holland America MS Westerdam on her return to San Diego from a 30 day Hawaii and South Pacific cruise. I was on that cruise and standing on the upper deck starboard side to watch the rescue. This was not US Air Force, in fact the helo looked strange and had hand painted lettering on the side, I originally thought it may be from Mexico. We heard that the passenger was suffering from heart failure thus requiring emergency evacuation. Interesting video This was a U.S. Air Force/California Air National Guard medevac mission off Westerdam. The aircraft involved were a MC-130P Combat Shadow (modified C-130 Hercules) from the 129th Rescue Wing (ANG) out of Moffett Federal Airfield, CA (near Mountain View) and a HH-60G Pave Hawk (modified Backhawk) from the 58th Rescue Squadron normally based out of Nellis AFB, NV. (Las Vegas). According to the text, both aircraft first deployed to NAS North Island (Coronado Island across the bay from San Diego) from where the mission was launched. The patient suffered from kidney failure The 129th RQW's mission from their website: The primary mission of the 129th RQW is to perform its wartime mission of combat search and rescue anywhere in the world. In addition to its wartime mission, the unit also works closely with the Coast Guard and various civil agencies during state missions. Equipped with MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters, the 129th RQW has performed a wide variety of civilian search-and-rescue missions, including the rescue of distressed persons aboard ships, lost or injured hikers, and medical evacuations. The large 3-digit '840' number on the Pave Hawk is a temporary number applied on the fuselage as is done routinely on Air Force/Air National Guard assets deployed on large wild fires The Mexicans don't have air assets like this, meaning the capability to extend the range of the helo by aerial refueling from an aircraft like the MC-130P, and neither does the U.S. Coast Guard who perform fine work and who would normally handle a medevac of a cruise ship like Westerdam. 300 miles off the coast however, is beyond the USCG's helo's range and capability. That's why the 129th RQW was tasked with this. Thanks for posting the video! Awesome job California Air National Guard and Air Force! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted May 11, 2013 #12 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Duplicated one pic:o; one more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted May 11, 2013 #13 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wow, that is some precision flying. I've only been awake around one air rescue, on the Enchantment of the Seas between Bermuda and Boston. In that case, the Coast Guard Helo hovered above the ship's superstructure, and dropped a line down to the Lido deck. Even that was quite a flying job; hovering at Bridge level by the bow of the ship is really amazing. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vict0riann Posted May 11, 2013 #14 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thanks to the OP for the video, and to Copper for all the additional information and great photos. I never want to get seriously ill on a cruise! The poor passenger - fear added to pain! Hope he is better, and great work, National Guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boytjie Posted May 11, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wow! I did not think a helicopter would get so close to the deck (especially at the bow) and thought they usually hover higher up. Amazing skill displayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Knee Posted May 13, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 13, 2013 According to the local TV stations the rescued passenger is recovering fine. What the video doesn't show is the helicopter circling the Westerdam many times to burn off fuel prior to the rescue. He also hovered off the starboard side stern while we had lunch watching. After the helicopter was lighter he lifted up the sick passenger and then refueled for the trip back to San Diego. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowmc Posted May 13, 2013 #17 Share Posted May 13, 2013 God bless the young men and women serving our nation across the globe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted May 13, 2013 #18 Share Posted May 13, 2013 That's is some impressive flying, thanks to the OP for the video, thanks to Cooper for all the details. Glad the passenger is recovering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon1 Posted May 14, 2013 #19 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Great vid. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxurysailer Posted May 14, 2013 #20 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thanks for this thread. It's good to see what can be done when a cruise ship is far at sea and someone is in need of emergency medical care beyond the ship's capabilities. However, being within range of a helicopter isn't going to always be possible on some cruises. Many years ago I was a flight surgeon in a C-130 tactical airlift wing, so it was really good to see how well that airplane is still performing over fifty years after it went into service. When going through flight surgeon school we were shown a video of a C-130 plucking someone from a raft at sea. As I recall there was a balloon tethered to the person being picked up. The C-130 flew overhead and snagged the line attached to the balloon and literally jerked him up out of the raft and reeled him in to the rear cargo door. The helicopter rescue off the Westerdam looks pretty exciting, but the one I described above would be the ride of a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie859 Posted May 14, 2013 #21 Share Posted May 14, 2013 What great video! Thanks for posting. In March of this year, a passenger was air lifted off the Zaandam's Lido Deck due to a health emergency. We were on the way back from a Hawaii cruise heading towards Ensenada when the captain made the announcement that we were altering course slightly to get within flying range of the recue copter. It's just amazing when rescues like these are executed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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