# 442 Squadron Buffalo and crew helped rescue.....



## Bograt (1 Nov 2004)

http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=8&cat=23&id=319008&more=

A 442 Squadron Buffalo and crew helped rescue two sailors from their sailboat in rough seas, Tuesday.
The Buffalo assisted in a joint American and Canadian search and rescue mission that occurred approximately 360 kilometres off the coast of Washington. The crew had responded to a U.S. Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre request for assistance, said 19 Wing public affairs officer Captain Cheryl Robinson.
The Buffalo crew was launched to locate and support rescue operations to the vessel, which was transmitting an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
As the crew approached the site, the vessel was located by an American rescue crew; however the Buffalo crew assisted in the rescue on scene.
"It was all cloud as we came in, until we broke through at 800 feet where it cleared and we saw the vessel," said Capt. Hayward Keats, aircraft commander of the Buffalo. "The weather was very rough, you could see the waves crashing over the bow and the winds were really knocking the vessel around."
The Buffalo prepared to drop emergency gear, but didn't have to because an American Coast Guard H-60 helicopter arrived at the same time and called off the drop. The Buffalo then acted as a communications platform for the rescue.
"We could hear the communications between the helicopter and the men on board," said Cpl. Steve Popp, flight engineer. "The men on board were very calm, even when told to jump overboard! They had to get off the ship so the Coast Guard could hoist someone down to get them, since the mast of the vessel was rocking so hard that the helicopter couldn't get close enough to safely hoist the men on board."
"The on-scene commander of air resources (OSCAR), an American P3 Orion, had to leave as it had reached its fuel limit," Keats said. "We took over until a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 Hercules came on scene, approximately 10 minutes later.
"The procedures between Canadian and American SAR are very similar, which is key to interoperability. It was very easy to work with our American counterparts."
The Buffalo remainedâ  ¨on scene until both men were safely hoisted intoâ  ¨the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter before returning to Comox.


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