The White Falcon - 01.02.1980, Page 5

February 1. 1980
The White Falcon
Page 5
Crew recounts helo mishap at press conference
* Near Lake Thingvallavatn, net far
from Reykjavik, a privately charter-
ed civilian Cessna 172 Skyhawk plane
crashed, December 18, 1979, on its
return to Reykjavik while on a sight
seeing tour. It had run into severe
weather conditions north of the Ice-
landic, capital. Its automatically
controlled distress signals notified
the Reykjavik contr.ol tower.
Already in flight on a training
mission, one of Detachment 14's HH-3
"Jolly Green Giant" helicopters was
notified, and they were requested to
assist those at the crash site. Upon
arrival to the site, it was discov-
ered that three out of the four
crash victims were seriously injur-
ed. But this was only the beginning
of the ordeal.
An evacuation sortie was conduct-
ed from the crash site carrying the
crashed Cessna's pilot to Reykjavik,
where the HH-3 refueled and picked
up two Icelandic doctors. Two vic-
tims of the crash were left pinned
in the wreckage with the remaining
victim who elected to stay with them
until the refueled helo returned.
ies. All victims are expected to
recover within the next few months.
Det. 14, the 67th Aerospace Res-
cue and Recovery Squadron, has been
stationed in Keflavik since November
1971. Until the night of Dec. 18's
accident, they had accumulated about
7,125 accident free flight hours. In
their eight year history, the crew
and helicopters of the detachment
averaged 800-900 hours flight time
per year, and to Dec. 18, 1979 they
logged 900 hours flight time. They
received the U.S. Air Force 5,000
Hour Accident-Free Award in Septem-
ber 1977, and the Seven year Acci-
dent Free Award in November 1978.
The rescue squadron has been cre-
dited with saving 156 lives in and
around Iceland since they came to
Keflavik. In addition to Icelanders
the detachment has saved individuals
from several other countries. The
area of responsibility it covers is
nearly one million square miles a-
round Iceland from the North Atlan-
tic to the North Pole. To accomp-
lish a rescue mission, the "Jolly
Greens" also have assistance of an
Charles K. Singleton; Co-pilot First
Lieutenant Manuel Fernandez; and
Flight Engineer, SSgt. Thomas W.
Berry; were questioned about the aid
they received from the time of the
crash. "It was a matter of people
helping people," responded SSgt.
Berry, who suffered a broken leg
and jaw. "We were out in the
middle of nowhere; the roads were
bad, and the snow was high. The
Icelanders were readily available
with snowmobiles, and other equip-
ment. "i was unconscious for awhile
so I really couldn't tell you much."
Capt. Singleton recalls "They were
fast and efficient." "And although
our Icelandic doctor on board was
hurt minimally, he did help consid-
erably" continued lLt. Fernandez,
"It was, I believe, a miracle the
aircraft didn't burn as well." When
asked how soon the men would be fly-
ing; "Of course our outlook has
changed, but we're just as excited
about getting back to flying which
we will in just a few months" assur-
ed the captain.
At the press conference held last Friday at the Det. 14 hangar, Wayne Amann (left foreground), as well as the lo-
cal Icelandic press, directed questions to three men involved in the HH-3 helicopter crash of December 18, 1979.
Interviewed were (from left to right) SSgt. Thomas Berry, Capt. Charles Singleton, and lLt. Manuel Fernandez; who
all spoke well of the aid they received by both Icelandic and NATO base personnel during their rescue and re-
covery period.
A?
Upon safe return to the crash
site, the HH-3 picked up the three
crash victims and began their return
trip to Reykjavik. All 10 passeng-
ers were destined for the second
crash that evening; three for the
second time.
Investigations, begun on Dec. 20,
had reported that of the five for-
eign nationals onboard the HH-3, one
of the doctors was not seriously in-
jured, but the other sustained a
broken back. The three victims from
the Cessna crash apparently suffered
io additional injuries. The five
llitary personnel sustained multip-
le fractures and soft tissue injur-
HC-130 tanker aircraft, which is ro-
tated each week from it's home base
at Woodbridge, England. In addition
to providing for in-flight refueling
to the HH-3E's, the HC-130 provides
long range navigation and communica-
tions to assist rescue operations in
often hazardous flying conditions in
the area.
This is the first helicopter
flight accident for the Defense
Force in almost 10 years. The two
previous were in 1965 and 1970; both
involved a different helicopter -
the Sikorski H-34 "Choctaw" model.
Last Friday a press conference
was held; where the pilot. Captain
With at least three people look-
ing after the unconscious SSgt. Ber-
ry at all times, immediate transport
was still made by 4-wheelers towards
the roads with the victims for the
ambulances to take over. They
were looked after in all stages of
recovery by both American and Ice-
landic individuals in this great
feat of assistance.
Story by SN Mary Reed
Photos by J03 David Guise