R44 down in Alaska
Coast Guard rescues men, dogs after helicopter crash near Godwin Glacier
KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued two men and seven sled dogs after their aircraft crashed in the mountains 10 miles southeast of Seward Saturday.
Jimmy Lebling, a Seward resident, and Eric Ridington, the pilot and a Wasilla resident, reportedly departed from Seward in a Robinson R-44 helicopter in transit to Godwin Glacier. Due to the turbulent winds and whiteout conditions in the mountains however, it was reported they were forced down, made contact with the ground, rolling the helicopter over and destroying the aircraft.
A satellite GPS device on board the helicopter notified the Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna of the crash. The troopers alerted a Coast Guard helicopter crew forward deployed in Cordova via VHF radio about 12 p.m.
The Coast Guard rescue helicopter crew was on a training flight near Seward and arrived at the crash site 15 minutes after initial notification from the state troopers.
“It was a challenging rescue due to the altitude and white-out conditions,” said Lt. Cmdr. Craig Neubecker, pilot, aircraft commander and MH-60 Jayhawk deputy executive officer. “We were in the convergence of winds coming from two different directions off the mountains, and had to hoist using the helicopter wreckage as a point of reference to prevent us from whiting out ourselves. The crash was on a mountain side and it was very steep, so we lowered the rescue swimmer to the cliff ledge to perform the rescue. It was a little bit of divine intervention that had us in the right place to respond so quickly, and we thank God that we were able to rescue the men and the sled dogs."
Lebling, Ridington and the seven sled dogs were successfully hoisted and transported to awaiting emergency medical personnel in Seward. The men and dogs were reported in good condition.