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Boondocksaint375
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Crews' training mission becomes rescue
[FONT=Times New Roman, Serif]Patrick units pull boater from ocean
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
BY R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY[/FONT]
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE - Russell Alger is a fortunate man.
As dusk descended Thursday, the 66-year-old Longwood resident fell overboard, without a life jacket, about five miles off South Daytona.
Lt. Col. Paul Nevius from the 920th Rescue Wing, piloting the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter on his way back to Patrick Air Force Base with a second helicopter after a training mission, spotted a 21-foot boat traveling erratically at full throttle a few miles inland from where, unbeknownst to him, Alger was bobbing in the ocean.
Had it not been for unplanned changes in his route, Nevius wouldn't have been anywhere near where Alger and his boat were found.
"A lot of things got us there," Nevius said. "Grace-of-God kind of things."
Once they spotted the boat, the crews turned around to get a closer look. After seeing no one aboard, they coordinated with the Coast Guard and, at about 5:15 p.m., began what turned out to be three-hour search for the missing boater.
At about 8 p.m., the Air Force helicopter crew spotted Alger. Pararescue jumpers Staff Sgt. Kacee Holmes and Master Sgt. Chris Seinkner jumped from the helicopter into the ocean to rescue him.
"He was waving his arms," Seinkner said. "I told him, 'You're so lucky we found you.' He said he was glad to see us."
They hoisted him to safety at 8:20 p.m.
His boat was recovered and was in the possession of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
A series of pure coincidences led to Alger's rescue.
The Air Force team of two helicopter crews planned to train near the Keys but because of inclement weather instead headed north toward Gainesville. At the end of the training, the helicopters had to fly east because of bad weather over the middle of the state. Then they ended up flying out over the ocean to stay out of flight patterns near Daytona Beach.
Meanwhile, pararescuers were at the base preparing their equipment for a night training jump. That allowed them to get to the rescue location a lot faster than normal when the call came that they were needed.
It was Holmes' first civilian rescue and his first time to hoist someone out of the ocean.
"It was amazing," he said. "I didn't think about it much. We just jumped."
The Air Force crew flew Alger to Daytona International Airport. He declined medical treatment and was released in good condition. He could not be reached Friday.
[FONT=Times New Roman, Serif]Patrick units pull boater from ocean
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
BY R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY[/FONT]
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE - Russell Alger is a fortunate man.
As dusk descended Thursday, the 66-year-old Longwood resident fell overboard, without a life jacket, about five miles off South Daytona.
Lt. Col. Paul Nevius from the 920th Rescue Wing, piloting the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter on his way back to Patrick Air Force Base with a second helicopter after a training mission, spotted a 21-foot boat traveling erratically at full throttle a few miles inland from where, unbeknownst to him, Alger was bobbing in the ocean.
Had it not been for unplanned changes in his route, Nevius wouldn't have been anywhere near where Alger and his boat were found.
"A lot of things got us there," Nevius said. "Grace-of-God kind of things."
Once they spotted the boat, the crews turned around to get a closer look. After seeing no one aboard, they coordinated with the Coast Guard and, at about 5:15 p.m., began what turned out to be three-hour search for the missing boater.
At about 8 p.m., the Air Force helicopter crew spotted Alger. Pararescue jumpers Staff Sgt. Kacee Holmes and Master Sgt. Chris Seinkner jumped from the helicopter into the ocean to rescue him.
"He was waving his arms," Seinkner said. "I told him, 'You're so lucky we found you.' He said he was glad to see us."
They hoisted him to safety at 8:20 p.m.
His boat was recovered and was in the possession of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
A series of pure coincidences led to Alger's rescue.
The Air Force team of two helicopter crews planned to train near the Keys but because of inclement weather instead headed north toward Gainesville. At the end of the training, the helicopters had to fly east because of bad weather over the middle of the state. Then they ended up flying out over the ocean to stay out of flight patterns near Daytona Beach.
Meanwhile, pararescuers were at the base preparing their equipment for a night training jump. That allowed them to get to the rescue location a lot faster than normal when the call came that they were needed.
It was Holmes' first civilian rescue and his first time to hoist someone out of the ocean.
"It was amazing," he said. "I didn't think about it much. We just jumped."
The Air Force crew flew Alger to Daytona International Airport. He declined medical treatment and was released in good condition. He could not be reached Friday.
(no gay there)
