CH-53K’s first fleet mission was a tough operation to lift a MH-60S at 12,000 ft
Posted on September 10, 2021 by alert5
The CH-53K King Stallion has executed its first fleet mission on Sept. 5 in California. The heavy-lift helicopter help to recover a Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter from Mount Hogue.
The MH-60S had been stuck on the mountain since Jul. 16 after a hard landing during a search and rescue mission. It was sitting on a high altitude ridge at 12,000 ft above mean sea level. The Naval Safety Center had exhausted all options for recovering the rotorcraft using Army, Marine and Navy helicopters before turning to the CH-53K community.
A detachment from VMX-1 happened to be at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation of the CH-53K. Two CH-53Ks were then deployed to Bishop after two weeks of planning.
The MH-60S weighed approximately 15,200 lbs and was within the lift capacity of the King Stallion. It was safely transported over 23 nautical miles to the Bishop airport.
http://alert5.com/2021/09/10/ch-53ks-first-fleet-mission-was-a-tough-operation-to-lift-a-mh-60s-at-12000-ft/
