Twelve missing in Nellis helicopter crash

Friday, Sept. 4, 1998 | 11:17 a.m.

Two Nellis Air Force Base Search and Rescue helicopters crashed early today in the rugged terrain 25 miles north of Indian Springs. The Air Force had no immediate word on the fate of the 12 crew members on board the two helicopters.

Air Force officials said this morning that the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters were deployed for night training exercises at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and were due back by 12:30 a.m. today. At 1 a.m., they were reported overdue, said Brig. Gen. Theodore Lay, 57th Wing commander at Nellis.

"Search and Rescue and emergency forces from the Air Force, the Bureau of Land Management, Lincoln County, Indian Springs and the Department of Energy assisted Nellis in the search," Lay said. "They were flying a training mission over the Nellis Air Force Base Range."

Search and Rescue helicopters located the crash site just before dawn. No further details about the site were immediately released, and Air Force officials were tight lipped about whether there were any casualties or survivors.

Pave Hawks, which have seen action in the Persian Gulf and have provided evacuation coverage for U.S. Navy Seals operations, are 64 feet, 8 inches in length and 16 feet, 8 inches in height and have a top speed of 184 mph. They cost $10.1 million apiece.

The crews and helicopters were assigned to Nellis's 66th Rescue Squadron, which during five deployments to Southwest Asia since 1993, logged more than 1600 flight hours and 850 sorties without a major incident, Air Force officials said. This statistic, Air Force officials said, is considered remarkable given the extreme temperatures and unpredictable sand storms of that region.

The 66th Rescue Squadron was originally formed on Nov. 14, 1952, at Royal Air Force Base, Manston, England, and was deactivated about six years later. It was reactivated at Nellis on March 1, 1991.

The unit's initial deployment on Jan. 25, 1993, marks the first time a combat rescue squadron was mobilized since the Vietnam War.

The 66th Rescue Squadron has since participated in rescue operations and exercises around the world, including South West Asia and high-altitude snow operation deployments in Utah.

The squadron also has assisted in numerous local civilian rescues.

In 1996, the squadron won the Secretary of Defense Small Maintenance Award and the Jolly Green Rescue Award.

The primary mission of the 66th rescue squadron is combat rescue, the helicopters that crashed today were part of a 14-unit fleet at Nellis -- one of only two in the nation.

A typical crew for the HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter includes the pilot, copilot, flight engineer, a gunner and two rescuers, who are trained as paramedics, scubadivers, parachutists, mountain climbers and survivalists. The aircraft also can carry eight-to-10 troops.

The Pavehawk is a twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorski.

Pavehawks are equipped with all-weather radar that enables the crew to avoid inclement weather. They also have rotor blade anti-ice systems for all weather operations.

They also are equipped with a rescue hoist with a 200-foot cable and 600-pound lift capacity. External loads can be carried on an 8,000-pound capacity cargo hook. The craft have non-retractable landing gear.