Dramatic moment Coastguard helicopter nearly blown into sea – crew tries to rescue cruise ship passengers
- The crew of an MH60 Jayhawk was sent to the Carnival Dream cruise on April 29 for a medical evacuation
- When the helicopter arrived on scene, the crew encountered dangerous wind and rain that forced the helicopter to retreat from the ship
- It then tumbled down – coming to rest only a few feet above the water when concerned cruise ship passengers shouted ‘Get up, get up’
Dramatic video posted online shows a Coast Guard helicopter almost blown into the sea as its crew tried to rescue a cruise ship passenger.
The crew of MH60 Jayhawk was sent to the Carnival Dream cruise about 300 miles off the Alabama coast in the early morning hours of April 29 after the Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a request for a medical evacuation of a passenger who was with heart attack-like symptoms, officials say.
But when the helicopter arrived, the weather conditions began to deteriorate and the wind picked up.
When the Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans crew tried to hoist one of the ship’s orderlies aboard, it began to rock back and forth until it was finally swept off the ship.
Soon the helicopter tumbled down – coming to a halt only a few feet above the water when concerned cruise ship passengers shouted ‘Get up, get up’.
Stunned cruise ship passengers saw the helicopter fall toward the water on April 29
Heavy winds forced the helicopter away from the ship as crews attempted to hoist a nurse
Coast Guard officials said the incident occurred after the crew lowered a rescue swimmer onto the upper deck of the Carnival Dream cruise.
They then tried to hoist the nurse up when a large gust of wind and rain forced her to retreat from the ship.
A huge gust of wind then forced the approximately 14,500-pound flying machine to “recover the plane close to the surface of the water.”
“During the rescue, the aircrew encountered severe and rapidly deteriorating weather forcing them to abort the mission,” said Cmdr. Keith Blair, a commanding officer at the Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, said in a rack.
“Thanks to exceptional real-time risk management, crew resource management and excellent piloting, the flight crew was able to safely recover the aircraft and land at the air station without incident.”
Another crew was sent to the ship later in the day, he noted, and was able to “rescue the patient and the swimmer and take the patient to the University Medical Center in stable condition for treatment.”