USCG stuck: Bodega Bay
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USCG stuck: Bodega Bay
Could happen to any of us, but extracting the Dauphin from that will be interesting 
Coast Guard Helicopter Used In Boy’s Bodega Bay Rescue Now Stuck
Coast Guard Helicopter Used In Boy’s Bodega Bay Rescue Now Stuck
BODEGA BAY (CBS SF) – The Coast Guard helicopter that helped rescue Sebastion Johnson, the 4-year-old boy who tumbled more than 200 feet down a cliff at Bodega Head, was itself stuck after the incident.
Heavy fog forced the helicopter to land on a slope during the rescue, and the angle it’s now stuck in makes it unsafe to lift off.
The Coast Guard is now devising a new plan on how to move it.
The boy’s mother said her son fell off a cliff as she was walking with him on a trail, Bodega Bay Fire Protection District Fire Chief Sean Grinnell said.
He was in serious condition at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland Tuesday.
Heavy fog forced the helicopter to land on a slope during the rescue, and the angle it’s now stuck in makes it unsafe to lift off.
The Coast Guard is now devising a new plan on how to move it.
The boy’s mother said her son fell off a cliff as she was walking with him on a trail, Bodega Bay Fire Protection District Fire Chief Sean Grinnell said.
He was in serious condition at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland Tuesday.
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USCG stuck: Bodega Bay
Wow what a great rescue. My thoughts and prayers to the boy and his family. May he find a full recovery.
As for the stranded helo, I hope they devise a plan to recover the equipment. If not, no worries. It's always worth sacrificing equipment and property to save a life. Well done to the crew.
The U.S. Coast Guard is a fantastic service as evidenced by this story along with countless others, both told and untold.
As for the stranded helo, I hope they devise a plan to recover the equipment. If not, no worries. It's always worth sacrificing equipment and property to save a life. Well done to the crew.
The U.S. Coast Guard is a fantastic service as evidenced by this story along with countless others, both told and untold.
Maybe hire this Austrian EMS pilot to recover the MH-65, looks like he has some experience with tricky slopes.
Bravo Zulu to the crew for a successful rescue.
Semper paratus!
Bravo Zulu to the crew for a successful rescue.
Semper paratus!
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Coast Guard Dolphin Stuck at Bodega Bay
A Coast Guard
HH-65 Dolphin landed on a grassy bluff at Bodega Bay, California and it's said to be undamaged but it "can't take off" for unspecified safety reasons. They are talking about trucking it out. This seems very odd, can I ask you experts what the safety issue is? Here's an article with a good photo, or google Coast Guard helicopter Bodega Bay for others.
Hi,
the angle the helicopter is stuked exceeds the slope limts given by the manufacture.
Further, you´re not sure, weather you can clear the stuck gear without problems and might have a pivot point for dynamic rollover.
Dragging out isn´t a good idea, cause the undercarriage isn´t designed to be draged through dirt.
I would dig down and use a hydraulik jack to level the helicopter, put a plank underneath the landing gear, remove the jack and fly the bird away....
Greetings Flying Bull
the angle the helicopter is stuked exceeds the slope limts given by the manufacture.
Further, you´re not sure, weather you can clear the stuck gear without problems and might have a pivot point for dynamic rollover.
Dragging out isn´t a good idea, cause the undercarriage isn´t designed to be draged through dirt.
I would dig down and use a hydraulik jack to level the helicopter, put a plank underneath the landing gear, remove the jack and fly the bird away....
Greetings Flying Bull
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OK. There is easy access to the site, and no shortage of equipment or materials nearby. I'm puzzled why it took more than a couple of hours. I forgot the link, here it is.
Rescue helicopter grounded at Bodega Head | The Press Democrat
Rescue helicopter grounded at Bodega Head | The Press Democrat
"Heavy fog forced the helicopter to land on a slope during the rescue, and the angle it’s now stuck in makes it unsafe to lift off."
"The helicopter touched down on soft, sloping ground and began to sink in, preventing a safe take off, Coast Guard spokeswoman Loumania Stewart said."
"It was unclear why it couldn't be flown away. Officials said it was not damaged."
(I was going to link that to the recent discussion about slope limits for takeoff, but I couldn't find it)
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The risk of dynamic rollover precludes any attempt to unstick oneself from the bog, better to jack it up and stick some wooden planks under the wheels, but even that carries its risks.
I'm sure those on the scene will do the right thing eventually.
I'm sure those on the scene will do the right thing eventually.
According to the pic in here they already pulled it to level ground:
Rescue helicopter grounded at Bodega Head | The Press Democrat
So why dont they want it to fly away now?
skadi
Rescue helicopter grounded at Bodega Head | The Press Democrat
So why dont they want it to fly away now?
skadi
PrivatePilotRadarTech
Regarding "why it did not take a couple of hours" as there was "lots of equipment nearby"???
This is not the kind of job you should rush, or need to rush. The aircraft is safe - why screw it up by rushing? Getting this wrong will wreck the aircraft and risk lives. As for equipment nearby - i imagine that would not have included a (highly specialised) set of jacks for a Dauphin / Dolphin!
Regarding "why it did not take a couple of hours" as there was "lots of equipment nearby"???
This is not the kind of job you should rush, or need to rush. The aircraft is safe - why screw it up by rushing? Getting this wrong will wreck the aircraft and risk lives. As for equipment nearby - i imagine that would not have included a (highly specialised) set of jacks for a Dauphin / Dolphin!
Had the same with an Army Lynx when the downhill skid sank in soft ground, putting the a/c out of limits. Took the crew ages to dig out from under the uphill skid to get back in limits. 
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OvertHawk
Regarding "rushing" the job of flying the CG Dolphin out of there, it got stuck on Monday and was still there on Wednesday. San Francisco is just a 1.5 hr drive away. Not a lot of rushing going on. I did find an interesting quote: "We were digging behind the main landing gear to safely roll it back down the hill onto the path to get it onto more level ground," US Coast Guard Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician David Blowers said. That explains part of my puzzlement, the first photos I saw showed the Dolphin on the path, looking very flyable, not where it set down. I should add that we're in a 3 yr drought. Might be a little mud out there, but not much, as you can see from the photo that Skadi posted.
Regarding "rushing" the job of flying the CG Dolphin out of there, it got stuck on Monday and was still there on Wednesday. San Francisco is just a 1.5 hr drive away. Not a lot of rushing going on. I did find an interesting quote: "We were digging behind the main landing gear to safely roll it back down the hill onto the path to get it onto more level ground," US Coast Guard Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician David Blowers said. That explains part of my puzzlement, the first photos I saw showed the Dolphin on the path, looking very flyable, not where it set down. I should add that we're in a 3 yr drought. Might be a little mud out there, but not much, as you can see from the photo that Skadi posted.
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Dragging out isn´t a good idea, cause the undercarriage isn´t designed to be draged through dirt.
Why not?
There is an De-Bogging kit listed in the ICO Chapter 13-10-...
and there is a procedure in the AMM Chapter 09-10-... which tells the Engineers how to use it.
It's not an difficult task and can be done forward or backwards, depends which direction is easier to access.
The Landing Gear is designed and tested for these kind of "accidents"!
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Here's an article on the resolution- it flew out at 4:30 pm Wednesday, so it sat there for about 48 hours.
Helicopter stuck after cliff rescue now back at | The Press Democrat
There seems to be some rivalry between the Coast Guard and our Sheriff's helicopter crews. You might enjoy reading this harrowing tale:
Sonoma County helicopter pilot honored for daring rescue | The Press Democrat
Helicopter stuck after cliff rescue now back at | The Press Democrat
There seems to be some rivalry between the Coast Guard and our Sheriff's helicopter crews. You might enjoy reading this harrowing tale:
Sonoma County helicopter pilot honored for daring rescue | The Press Democrat
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Glad to see they got out of it OK. As to night cliff rescues in N. California...
Both sailing vessels made it through the night safely.
Both sailing vessels made it through the night safely.
Date of incident: 12 July 1994
Crash related deaths:
LT Laurence B. Williams (CG Aviator #2887)
LT Mark E. Koteek (CG Aviator #3113)
ASMCS Peter A. Leeman (CG Rescue Swimmer #147)
AM1 Michael R. Gill
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA
Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number:
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6541
Location of the incident: Shelter Cove, CA
Description of the incident:
This crew was responding to a grounded sailing vessel. It was dark and the weather was poor as this crew attempted to descend through the fog to assist the vessel in distress. The helicopter impacted the side of a cliff and the entire crew was lost.
Crash related deaths:
LT Laurence B. Williams (CG Aviator #2887)
LT Mark E. Koteek (CG Aviator #3113)
ASMCS Peter A. Leeman (CG Rescue Swimmer #147)
AM1 Michael R. Gill
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA
Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number:
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6541
Location of the incident: Shelter Cove, CA
Description of the incident:
This crew was responding to a grounded sailing vessel. It was dark and the weather was poor as this crew attempted to descend through the fog to assist the vessel in distress. The helicopter impacted the side of a cliff and the entire crew was lost.
Date of incident: 8 June 1997
Crash related deaths:
LT Jeffrey F. Crane (CG Aviator #3188)
LTJG Charles W. Thigpen IV (CG Aviator #3310)
AD3 Richard L. Hughes
ASM3 James G. Caines (CG Rescue Swimmer #425)
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA
Aircraft type and tail number:
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6549
Location of the incident: At sea off the coast of Northern California
Description of the incident:
Responding to a sailing vessel taking on water at night the crew of CG-6549 perished in poor weather conditions and high seas. It is believed that the aircraft impacted the water while attempting to make an approach to the vessel.
Crash related deaths:
LT Jeffrey F. Crane (CG Aviator #3188)
LTJG Charles W. Thigpen IV (CG Aviator #3310)
AD3 Richard L. Hughes
ASM3 James G. Caines (CG Rescue Swimmer #425)
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA
Aircraft type and tail number:
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6549
Location of the incident: At sea off the coast of Northern California
Description of the incident:
Responding to a sailing vessel taking on water at night the crew of CG-6549 perished in poor weather conditions and high seas. It is believed that the aircraft impacted the water while attempting to make an approach to the vessel.
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It's a dangerous business. The local sheriff dept has lost 3 helicopters too:
Angel-1 crashed in 1977 while returning to the airport after searching for a lost child, killing Sgt. Wilkinson.
Angel-2 crashed in October of 1980, killing both deputy sheriff’s aboard, Brent Jameson and Bliss Magley, as they were returning to the airport following a late night call-out for an officer involved shooting.
In 1981 the county purchased a new MD 500D dubbed “Henry-1”, the name still used today. This helicopter was troubled with numerous mechanical problems including five emergency landings due to engine failure. The final emergency landing in the summer of 1982 left the helicopter severely damaged on tidal rocks North of Jenner.
Angel-1 crashed in 1977 while returning to the airport after searching for a lost child, killing Sgt. Wilkinson.
Angel-2 crashed in October of 1980, killing both deputy sheriff’s aboard, Brent Jameson and Bliss Magley, as they were returning to the airport following a late night call-out for an officer involved shooting.
In 1981 the county purchased a new MD 500D dubbed “Henry-1”, the name still used today. This helicopter was troubled with numerous mechanical problems including five emergency landings due to engine failure. The final emergency landing in the summer of 1982 left the helicopter severely damaged on tidal rocks North of Jenner.