State Budget Impasse Affecting Emergency Chopper
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The program director for the Life Star emergency medical helicopters says if Connecticut's budget impasse continues, the program could be scaled back and one of its two helicopters eliminated.
Dr. Kenneth Robinson says Life Star, which is operated by Hartford Hospital and serves hospitals across Connecticut, has not received about four months worth of subsidy payments from the state, totaling about $464,000.
The hospital is currently covering the gap.
The $7.5 million Life Star program typically receives about $1.4 million a year from the state. Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who has been running the state by executive order because there isn't a budget in place, did not fund Life Star for July and August.
Robinson says the state also didn't make payments for May or June.
Showing posts with label SAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SAR. Show all posts
20 August 2009
08 February 2009
SAR: Osprey Practice
A CV-22 Osprey aircraft from the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., flies Jan. 31 over Florida's Emerald Coast. While over the water, the crew practiced using a hoist, which is used to rescue stranded people. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter)
More here...
07 February 2009
03 February 2009
SAR: Docs on skis
Due to ops in Afghanistan, the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in California is fast becoming the new Twentynine Palms. Among the training events there is the Cold Weather Medicine course.
More here...
02 February 2009
SAR: USCG selects SAR MAN-PACK
MIRAMAR, Fla., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- COSPAS-SARSAT turns off satellite detection of the 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz emergency radio beacons today. In order to track the new 406 MHz generation of emergency radio beacons the US Coast Guard selected Becker Avionics' SAR MAN-PACK for ground operations. Becker Avionics' SAR MAN-PACK is a mobile, full featured Multi-Band Radio Direction Finder capable of operating in the Aviation VHF/UHF band, Marine band and COSPAS-SARSAT 406Mhz band. The SAR MAN-PACK provides an effective tool for near proximity searches such as in marinas, ports, harbors, parks or urban environments
More here...
More here...
30 January 2009
CAP: The First CAP K9 Team
(From left) Second Lieutenants Roger Parker and Erik Strohm from the Clarion Civil Air Patrol Squadron, and First Lieutenant Scott Brown and Cadet Brown from the Franklin Squadron return from a successful search with bloodhound, Billie, and golden retriever, Savannah. The Clarion Composite Squadron 504 K9 search and rescue unit is the first of its kind in the nation organized under the Civil Air Patrol.
CLARION, PA- Clarion is home to the nation’s first K-9 search and rescue unit under the direction of the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary to the Air Force.
Major Ralph Timblin Sr. of Clarion is the group’s squadron commander, and works with one of the dogs, Timblin’s own Newfoundland , Sea Cur (pronounced seeker).
Some members of the former Allegheny Valley Search and Rescue group wanted to continue with their activities after that group closed, and Timblin told them to join up with him under the CAP.
More here...
25 January 2009
SAR: PJ PARTY!
Not much football today, so go to the PJ Party instead. USAF Combat Search and Rescue - CSAR
12 January 2009
SAR: New USAF GSAR Vehicle
Staff Sgt. John Cooke tests the maneuverability of an all-terrain vehicle equipped with a rubber track conversion system Jan. 6 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. The rubber tracks should improve snow rescue capabilities. He is with the 28th Security Forces Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Marc I. Lane)
10 January 2009
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists in Neshoba, Arkansas missing plane search
7 January, 2009 UPDATE: Body found. Details here...
Authorities in Neshoba County think they have located a missing plane belonging to an Arkansas pilot.
Winston County Sheriff Randy Thomas said his deputies discovered the wrecked, yellow-and-blue crop-duster about 5:30 p.m. Monday near the Winston, Kemper and Neshoba county lines in Neshoba County.
"Once we found it, we notified Neshoba County and (Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol)," Thomas said. "We're not sure if the pilot was ever located."
Ashley Smith of Vicksburg said she believes the pilot is Monty Hudson, her father.
Smith said Hudson was flying from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland and from Cleveland to Jonesboro, Ark., when his plane disappeared on Friday.
She said Monday night she'd been told her father's plane had been found. She wouldn't comment further.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville, Ala., said Monday that air and ground teams had focused their three-day search efforts near central portions of east Mississippi and west Alabama.
Mitcham said the Civil Air Patrol in both states began a search Saturday morning. But the search of parts of east Mississippi and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather.
She said she believes bad weather played a role in the disappearance.
More here...
Authorities in Neshoba County think they have located a missing plane belonging to an Arkansas pilot.
Winston County Sheriff Randy Thomas said his deputies discovered the wrecked, yellow-and-blue crop-duster about 5:30 p.m. Monday near the Winston, Kemper and Neshoba county lines in Neshoba County.
"Once we found it, we notified Neshoba County and (Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol)," Thomas said. "We're not sure if the pilot was ever located."
Ashley Smith of Vicksburg said she believes the pilot is Monty Hudson, her father.
Smith said Hudson was flying from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland and from Cleveland to Jonesboro, Ark., when his plane disappeared on Friday.
She said Monday night she'd been told her father's plane had been found. She wouldn't comment further.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville, Ala., said Monday that air and ground teams had focused their three-day search efforts near central portions of east Mississippi and west Alabama.
Mitcham said the Civil Air Patrol in both states began a search Saturday morning. But the search of parts of east Mississippi and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather.
She said she believes bad weather played a role in the disappearance.
More here...
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists at Indiana County Airport Crash
5 January, 2009
A single-engine plane crashed through some trees and landed on its roof on a wooded hillside north of the fog-enshrouded airport in White Township, authorities said.
Paramedics worked on the injured men as they rode in pickup trucks to Airport Road, then took them to Indiana Regional Medical Center for initial treatment. Citizens' Ambulance Service then transported them to the Johnstown hospital because the weather prevented medical helicopters from flying, an emergency responder said.
Emergency Management's Team 900, a wilderness search and rescue unit, set up floodlights at the crash site and members of the Civil Air Patrol kept watch over the scene until representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration could begin their investigation.
More here...
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists in Roswell, NM missing person search
7 January, 2009
A search last week for a lost Roswell, NM quail hunter brought home how important carrying the proper equipment can be to a happy outcome.
Tony Davis and Joyce Westerbur of White Mountain Search and Rescue, a group that operates out of Lincoln County, said anyone setting out to enjoy the New Mexico outdoors, whether hunting or for other activities, should carry a compass or Global Positioning Satellite device and a topographical map and know how to use them.
"Just having a cell phone is not sufficient," Davis said. "Cell phones did not work well in this area, for example."
WMSAR members were called to assist Chaves County SAR in the search Dec. 31 and Jan.1. The WMSAR "vanbulance" do-nated by Lincoln County was used in the search as a winter base camp, Davis said.
Cooperation among search and rescue groups from different counties is common. Chaves County SAR, Eddy County SAR, New Mexico State Police, state Game and Fish, a Civil Air Patrol aircraft and local ranchers on horseback all participated in the latest search.
More here...
A search last week for a lost Roswell, NM quail hunter brought home how important carrying the proper equipment can be to a happy outcome.
Tony Davis and Joyce Westerbur of White Mountain Search and Rescue, a group that operates out of Lincoln County, said anyone setting out to enjoy the New Mexico outdoors, whether hunting or for other activities, should carry a compass or Global Positioning Satellite device and a topographical map and know how to use them.
"Just having a cell phone is not sufficient," Davis said. "Cell phones did not work well in this area, for example."
WMSAR members were called to assist Chaves County SAR in the search Dec. 31 and Jan.1. The WMSAR "vanbulance" do-nated by Lincoln County was used in the search as a winter base camp, Davis said.
Cooperation among search and rescue groups from different counties is common. Chaves County SAR, Eddy County SAR, New Mexico State Police, state Game and Fish, a Civil Air Patrol aircraft and local ranchers on horseback all participated in the latest search.
More here...
09 January 2009
SAR: Pilots Slow To Buy New Emergency Beacons (ELT)
The helicopter's twisted wreckage lay in a Louisiana bayou, its crew severely injured and unable to call for help. But a small radio beacon was automatically notifying rescuers.
Within minutes after the crash Sunday, a satellite deep in space alerted rescuers to a possible crash, identified the helicopter's owner and helped pinpoint its location, according to the Air Force.
A Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the remote site within two hours, in time to airlift the lone survivor to a hospital.
New digital distress beacons like the one on the PHI helicopter are revolutionizing rescues of boaters, hikers and pilots across the globe.
But the chopper that crashed on the way to an offshore oil rig was one of only a small minority of U.S.-registered aircraft with the new beacons.
More than 85% of private planes do not carry the improved beacons even as the government prepares to stop listening Feb. 1 for distress calls from the older, outdated beacons installed on most aircraft. The newer beacons cost roughly $2,000 to $4,000, although prices are dropping.
"It's pretty scary," says Lt. Col. Clifton Hicks, who directs Air Force rescue operations in the continental United States.
In recent interviews, ranking officials at the Air Force, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors the distress beacons from its satellites in space, urged private pilots to install new Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) as soon as possible.
More here…
Within minutes after the crash Sunday, a satellite deep in space alerted rescuers to a possible crash, identified the helicopter's owner and helped pinpoint its location, according to the Air Force.
A Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the remote site within two hours, in time to airlift the lone survivor to a hospital.
New digital distress beacons like the one on the PHI helicopter are revolutionizing rescues of boaters, hikers and pilots across the globe.
But the chopper that crashed on the way to an offshore oil rig was one of only a small minority of U.S.-registered aircraft with the new beacons.
More than 85% of private planes do not carry the improved beacons even as the government prepares to stop listening Feb. 1 for distress calls from the older, outdated beacons installed on most aircraft. The newer beacons cost roughly $2,000 to $4,000, although prices are dropping.
"It's pretty scary," says Lt. Col. Clifton Hicks, who directs Air Force rescue operations in the continental United States.
In recent interviews, ranking officials at the Air Force, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors the distress beacons from its satellites in space, urged private pilots to install new Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) as soon as possible.
More here…
06 January 2009
CAP: Bad weather hampers search for missing plane last seen in Ala
Associated Press
Published: January 5, 2009
A search for a crop-duster aircraft that
went missing on the way from Alabama to Mississippi has been
hampered by bad weather.
Missing plane in Alabama
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville said Monday
the yellow aircraft, with blue markings, was reported missing
Friday afternoon on a flight from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland,
Miss. Only the pilot was on board.
Mitcham said the air patrol in both states began a search
Saturday morning. But a two-day search of parts of east Mississippi
and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather, which
also threatened Monday’s search efforts.
The aircraft was last reported near Livingston, Ala. Mitcham
said anyone with information about the plane can contact the air
patrol at 334-467-0897 in Alabama or 601-529-1580 in Mississippi.
Article here...
Published: January 5, 2009
A search for a crop-duster aircraft that
went missing on the way from Alabama to Mississippi has been
hampered by bad weather.
Missing plane in Alabama
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville said Monday
the yellow aircraft, with blue markings, was reported missing
Friday afternoon on a flight from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland,
Miss. Only the pilot was on board.
Mitcham said the air patrol in both states began a search
Saturday morning. But a two-day search of parts of east Mississippi
and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather, which
also threatened Monday’s search efforts.
The aircraft was last reported near Livingston, Ala. Mitcham
said anyone with information about the plane can contact the air
patrol at 334-467-0897 in Alabama or 601-529-1580 in Mississippi.
Article here...
01 January 2009
SAR: Ground Pounders and Mountain Goats
Mountain Rescue Assocation
An interesting web site, listing the Air Force Rescue Cordination Center in Langley VA, as an associated organization.
29 December 2008
SAR: New federal laws impact search and rescue groups
Report from New Mexico; As a result of a congressional mandate, support of search and rescue volunteer groups must be approached differently in the future.
Lincoln County Manager Tom Stewart notified county commissioners last week that Congress passed a revision to a program called Title III, dealing with national forest "which appears to no longer permit equipment purchases or general support for search and rescue, but does fund actual operational costs of searches and rescues."
In the past, equipment and support requests from White Mountain Search and Rescue, the local rescue organization, were funded primarily and intermittently by a distribution from the federal government to the county through Title III, he said.
To keep envisioned support constant, he advised Sue Townsend with the rescue group that the 2008-2009 request from the county for $4,140 will come from the general fund instead of from Title III.
"What concerns me in the future is your organization's ability to document costs of actual searches and to submit them in some form for reimbursement by the county," he wrote Townsend.
"I envision an eventual change in our contract to capture this potential reimbursement and am interested in learning of how your organization would propose to capture such costs of actual searches."
More here….
Lincoln County Manager Tom Stewart notified county commissioners last week that Congress passed a revision to a program called Title III, dealing with national forest "which appears to no longer permit equipment purchases or general support for search and rescue, but does fund actual operational costs of searches and rescues."
In the past, equipment and support requests from White Mountain Search and Rescue, the local rescue organization, were funded primarily and intermittently by a distribution from the federal government to the county through Title III, he said.
To keep envisioned support constant, he advised Sue Townsend with the rescue group that the 2008-2009 request from the county for $4,140 will come from the general fund instead of from Title III.
"What concerns me in the future is your organization's ability to document costs of actual searches and to submit them in some form for reimbursement by the county," he wrote Townsend.
"I envision an eventual change in our contract to capture this potential reimbursement and am interested in learning of how your organization would propose to capture such costs of actual searches."
More here….
24 December 2008
SAR: Colorado fatal crash found and one aircraft is still missing
Northwestern Colorado Plane Crash Kills 2
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP)
A single-engine airplane crashed near the small northwestern Colorado town of Hayden on Monday, killing both people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Piper PA-46 plane was headed to the Yampa Valley Regional Airport from Hutchinson, Kan., when it lost radio contact early Monday afternoon about 10 miles southeast of Hayden, FAA regional spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
Heavy snow was falling at the time.
Search and rescue crews were dispatched after the fixed-wing aircraft failed to arrive at the airport. Routt County search and rescue crews found the wreckage at about 4:40 p.m. Monday just west of Hayden.
The Moffat County sheriff's office identified the victims as Joseph and Suzette Brumleve of Steamboat Springs. FAA records show the plane was registered to Joseph Brumleve.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to arrive at the scene sometime Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.
Also Monday, Costilla County sheriff's Sgt. James Chavez said bad weather continued to prevent crews from reaching the wreckage of a small plane that crashed over the weekend in mountains in the southern Colorado.
The Beechcraft Baron, registered to a party in Canada, landed in Pueblo around 6:15 p.m. Saturday to refuel before heading to Santa Fe, N.M. The FAA alerted sheriff's officials after losing contact with the plane that night.
More here...
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP)
A single-engine airplane crashed near the small northwestern Colorado town of Hayden on Monday, killing both people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Piper PA-46 plane was headed to the Yampa Valley Regional Airport from Hutchinson, Kan., when it lost radio contact early Monday afternoon about 10 miles southeast of Hayden, FAA regional spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
Heavy snow was falling at the time.
Search and rescue crews were dispatched after the fixed-wing aircraft failed to arrive at the airport. Routt County search and rescue crews found the wreckage at about 4:40 p.m. Monday just west of Hayden.
The Moffat County sheriff's office identified the victims as Joseph and Suzette Brumleve of Steamboat Springs. FAA records show the plane was registered to Joseph Brumleve.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to arrive at the scene sometime Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.
Also Monday, Costilla County sheriff's Sgt. James Chavez said bad weather continued to prevent crews from reaching the wreckage of a small plane that crashed over the weekend in mountains in the southern Colorado.
The Beechcraft Baron, registered to a party in Canada, landed in Pueblo around 6:15 p.m. Saturday to refuel before heading to Santa Fe, N.M. The FAA alerted sheriff's officials after losing contact with the plane that night.
More here...
13 December 2008
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