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NAS Key West Search and Rescue Pulls Downed Pilot to Safety

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080117-20
Release Date: 1/17/2008 4:02:00 PM

From Naval Air Station Key West Public Affairs

KEY WEST, Fla. (NNS) -- A search and rescue (SAR) crew from Naval Air Station Key West safely recovered an Air Force pilot Jan. 15, shortly after he ejected from his F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft, 55 miles west of Key West.

"We received a distress call and the base was able to recall our SAR crew and have their equipment ready to go when they got [to the base]," said NAS Key West Commanding Officer Capt. J.R. Brown.

NAS launched its SH-60F Seahawk SAR helicopter after receiving a report of a downed aircraft shortly after 8 p.m. Pilots Cmdr. Michael Kutyba and Lt. Jean Dupin de St. Cyr, and aircrew Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class (AW) Derek Blackman and Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class (AW) Christian Lyons recovered the pilot and flew him to a local hospital.

"We worked with the Air Force and the Coast Guard to locate the downed pilot," said Brown, "And there were communications between [NAS] and Lower Keys Medical Center for treatment of the pilot."

The rescue was the first for the NAS Key West SAR crew in 2008.

The F-16 launched from Homestead Air Reserve Base and was operating in the training ranges west of Key West when the aircraft was lost. The jet belonged to the "Makos" of the 93rd Fighter Squadron.

"This was a good example of multi-agency organization and communication," Brown added.

"Doing all the preparation and training really helps when an emergency occurs because it makes things standardized," said Lyons. "When something happens we have a step-by-step way of doing things and it's routine."

The SAR team trains in the air an average of four days a week.

Commander, Fleet Forces Command Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, visiting NAS en route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, presented Blackman with a Navy Achievement Medal for his efforts in the rescue. Blackman spent more than 20 minutes in rough seas to untangle the pilot and help him to safety.

NAS Key West's SAR crew safely rescued another pilot from the 93rd Fighter Squadron when it crashed east of Islamorada last year in March.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

For more news for NAS Key West visit www.navy.mil/local/naskw.