Alaska rescue units had a hell of week: 3 planes, 2 countries and 1 stuck helicopter
Units from the Alaska Air National Guard, Army Guard and active duty all pitched in to respond to three plane crashes, an avalanche victim and a long-distance recovery of one of their own helicopters.
Matt White
Posted on Feb 13, 2025
Though winters in Alaska are typically slower than warmer months for the military rescue teams stationed there, the state’s flyers pulled off a rescue grand slam in late January — four responses to four different kinds of missions.
Over the last week in January, the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing flew to a remote Canadian town after an ultralight plane crashed there, answered a call for help from a small plane with engine issues near Anchorage, rushed to reach a backcountry snowboarder caught in an avalanche, and found a group of four hypothermic plane crash survivors as they tried to hike out from a remote lake that had swallowed their plane.
The Canadian mission even turned into a second multi-day, multi-aircraft mission when the Guard’s helicopter went down with mechanical issues 500 miles from home.
Four calls in five days
The frantic string of missions began on Jan. 26, when the Air Guard’s rescue units were dispatched to Faro, Canada where an ultralight plane had crashed. Even by Alaska standards, the mission was a remote one: the 176th’s home at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is about 250 miles from the Canadian border, and Faro sits another 250 miles inside the Yukon Territory.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/alaska-rescue-avalanche-plane-crash/
