A Search and Rescue team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island conducted three rescue missions over the last week, according to statements from the base.
On Aug. 7, SAR assisted in the rescue of an ill hiker in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens.
In the afternoon, the SAR team received a request for assistance for a man needing medical attention while trekking around Castle Lake near Mount St. Helens at an approximate altitude of 2,800 feet.
During the 125 nautical mile transit, the Helicopter Inland Rescue Aircrewman maintained communications with the on-ground rescue team for updated information and obtained coordinates for the location of a waiting ambulance.
SAR reached the ailing man’s location around 4:40 p.m. and hoisted him aboard the aircraft by 5 p.m. for the transit to the waiting ambulance.
After completing the rescue mission, SAR made it back to base just before 7:30 that evening.
On Aug. 10, SAR hoisted a climber off a cliff on Mt. Stuart.
The NAS Whidbey Island SAR team launched before 10 p.m. to respond to a climber suffering from chest pains on a cliff ledge at an elevation of 8,400 feet on Mt. Stuart. The SAR crew contacted the ailing climber and his friend and asked them to turn on strobe lights to aid in finding them once the helicopter was on station.
When the SAR crew arrived on scene at about 10 p.m. they saw the strobe light and found the climbing team on a small ledge among small spires running along a steep spine on the north face. The SAR team hoisted the patient aboard and delivered him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle just before 11 p.m.
On Sunday, SAR rescued a 54-year-old man in Okanogan County.
The NAS Whidbey SAR team launched around 6:40 p.m. Aug. 13 to respond to a hiker suffering from a heat-related condition on the Windy Creek Trail at an elevation of approximately 5,500 feet. The SAR crew arrived at the Windy Creek trailhead just after 7:30 p.m. and spotted the ailing man’s party on a slope with sparse tree coverage and some dead trees from a previous wildfire.
The SAR crew decided to insert rescue personnel about 50 meters down trail from the group’s location to avoid rotor wash on the patient and potential brown out conditions.
The SAR team hoisted the patient aboard and delivered him to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Bellingham where they landed just before 8:45 p.m.
NAS Whidbey Island SAR has conducted 26 missions this calendar year, which includes 1 MEDEVAC, 4 searches and 21 rescues.
Photo provided A Navy Search and Rescue helicopter lands at Harborview Medical Center Aug. 10.
