A Coast guard HO3S-1G was dispatched from Grand Isle, Louisiana to remove several crewmembers from a sinking shrimp boat. On the first flight out one of the blades severed a mast guy wire on the boat. Upon return to base the blade was inspected and found to have a small dent on the leading edge of the blade. The damage was removed per the maintenance manual and the second flight was made to remove the remaining crewmen.
Upon return to base the blade was found to have a crack that had propagated from the leading edge of the spar to almost the rear edge of the spar. The blade was removed at the same time that the pilot changed his underwear. The damaged section was cut out and sent back to Sikorsky with the thanks from the flight crew for building such damage tolerant blades.
