Missouri Guardsmen help Navy, Air Force recover helicopter

Missouri National Guard members led a joint removal of a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter that crashed at the Jefferson City airport as it was taking off after refueling on Saturday. Missouri Guard units from Jefferson City, Macon, and Springfield and Airmen from Whiteman Air Force Base assisted in the removal effort. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah E. Lupescu, 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment).

By Sgt. Sarah E. Lupescu
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri National Guard members helped recover a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter that crashed at the Jefferson City airport as it was taking off after refueling on Saturday.

"The Missouri Guard's organized response started Saturday after the accident," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kevin Nowack, the state aviation standardization officer. "After the air crew received medical attention, we began looking at clearing the damaged aircraft from the airport so they could resume normal operations."

The airport was holding a public event on the day of the accident. The Missouri National Guard had an OH-58 helicopter display set up and local emergency responders were already on site at the time of the accident. There were no fatalities in the accident.

Several Airmen from the 509th Security Forces Squadron, Whitman Air Force Base, were called on to provide 24-hour security around the damaged aircraft.

Missouri National Guardsmen began planning arrangements Saturday night to move the helicopter off the runway.

"I was briefed on what was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and who was going to show up," said Maj. Vaughn Brown, commander of Company B, 1-134th Aviation Battalion in Jefferson City. "Even with short notice, everyone was in the right place at the right time Sunday morning."

The mission was truly joint, with the Army, Air Force and Navy working together.

"The Air Force active duty pulled security, Army National Guard mechanics from Jefferson City and Springfield worked on the helicopter, we had engineers from Macon with a crane, and the attack battalion sent a refuel truck over to defuel the aircraft so we could start working on it," said Nowack.

The 1438th Engineer Company from Macon was one of the first units to arrive after receiving the mission.

"We provided the haul and lift assets," said 2nd Lt. Graydon Gaines, the 1438th Engineer Company executive officer. "We brought a crane, two M916 Line Haul Tractor Trucks, and two Humvees."

Guardsmen from the 1107th Aviation Group from Springfield brought rigging equipment to lift the aircraft with the crane onto one of the tractor trucks.
The mission continued throughout the day on Sunday without any issues.

"I thought it was a huge success," said Gaines. "No one was hurt and no equipment was further damaged. It is the kind of mission that really makes you excited about being a part of this organization, and seeing the Army and Air Force help out the Navy is a great thing."

After the helicopter was lifted by the crane and placed on a truck, it was transported to a hanger at the Jefferson City airport.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.blog.moguard.com

Staff Sgt. Arnold Ruecker, B Company, 1-134th Aviation Battalion, connects a rotor blade to a crane during a recovery effort after a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter that crashed at the Jefferson City airport Saturday. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah E. Lupescu, 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment).

Missouri National Guard members led a joint removal of a Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter that crashed at the Jefferson City airport as it was taking off after refueling on Saturday. Soldiers removed the rotor blades before hooking up the aircraft to a crane. The aircraft was placed on a truck and transported to a hangar on site. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah E. Lupescu, 70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment).