CONSO
7th Mar 2016, 20:56
Famed Coast Guard chopper heads to Air and Space Museum | HeraldNet.com - Nation & World (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20160306/NEWS02/160309427/1010/Famed-Coast-Guard-chopper-heads-to-Air-and-Space-Museum-)
By Michael Ruane
The Washington Post
Published: Sunday, March 6, 2016, 4:25 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Even before the Coast Guard helicopter got airborne that morning, the crew could see the glow from the fire on the horizon, 40 miles away.Two ships, one of them a fully loaded oil tanker, had collided in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas. Both were ablaze, and one was steaming in circles out of control. Dozens were dead, and more than 20 survivors were trapped on board.Three men - a battle-tested Vietnam War aviator, a veteran Coast Guard pilot on his last duty watch and a young crewman who took his Bible on every flight - scrambled into the orange-and-white helicopter and prepared for takeoff.They radioed that they were “Rescue 1426.” The “rescue” designation gave them air priority, and 1426 was the chopper's tail number. In the pre-dawn darkness, they removed the wheel chocks and ran up the engine. The ungainly aircraft, top speed 100 mph, got ready to lift off.It was shortly after 5 a.m., Nov. 1, 1979.
By Michael Ruane
The Washington Post
Published: Sunday, March 6, 2016, 4:25 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Even before the Coast Guard helicopter got airborne that morning, the crew could see the glow from the fire on the horizon, 40 miles away.Two ships, one of them a fully loaded oil tanker, had collided in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas. Both were ablaze, and one was steaming in circles out of control. Dozens were dead, and more than 20 survivors were trapped on board.Three men - a battle-tested Vietnam War aviator, a veteran Coast Guard pilot on his last duty watch and a young crewman who took his Bible on every flight - scrambled into the orange-and-white helicopter and prepared for takeoff.They radioed that they were “Rescue 1426.” The “rescue” designation gave them air priority, and 1426 was the chopper's tail number. In the pre-dawn darkness, they removed the wheel chocks and ran up the engine. The ungainly aircraft, top speed 100 mph, got ready to lift off.It was shortly after 5 a.m., Nov. 1, 1979.