The crew of an Alaska Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook assigned to 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, at the Whitehorse airport, Yukon Territory, Canada, supported the repair of a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk that had rescued two victims of a January 26, 2025, ultralight plane crash near Faro, Yukon Territory. SIMON BLAKESLEY
THE WATCH STAFF
The hardest-working people in rescue operations? It seemed that way for the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing in the final week of January 2025.
They flew to a distant Canadian town after an ultralight plane crashed nearby; responded to a small plane with engine troubles near Anchorage, Alaska; rescued a backcountry snowboarder caught in an avalanche; and retrieved four freezing plane crash survivors hiking out from a remote lake that had consumed their plane. In all, eight people were rescued, a news release from 176th Wing Public Affairs said.
The week of missions began on January 26, when Air Guard rescue units were sent to Faro, Yukon Territory, Canada, near where an ultralight plane had crashed. Joint Rescue Coordination Centre-Victoria had requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), the release said.
For the 176th, based at JBER, it was a long way from home. JBER is about 402 kilometers from the Canadian border, and Faro is another 402 kilometers inside the Yukon Territory.
The Guard’s 210th Rescue Squadron (RQS) launched an HH-60 helicopter — a Black Hawk modified for rescue with long-range gas tanks and a hoist — carrying two pararescue specialists (PJs) from the 212th RQS. An HC-130 tanker from the 211th RQS escorted the copter for air-to-air refueling.
After the HH-60 crew reached the crash site and retrieved both survivors, the crew flew to Faro and handed the survivors over to Canadian medical authorities. In Faro, crew members found that the copter had developed mechanical issues, grounding it until maintenance work could be done. That kicked off an airlift from JBER, and the Canadian operation turned into a multiday mission.
While the HH-60 awaited parts and mechanics, more emergencies arose in Alaska. On January 30, an HH-60 with PJs on routine training got a call about a small plane — a Piper Super Cub — that had engine troubles about 32 kilometers west of Anchorage. The crew spotted the plane safely on the ground and landed nearby.
“The pilot was still troubleshooting the aircraft to see if it was airworthy,” said Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Tyler Seibold. “When he realized it wasn’t, he requested a ride.” The pilot was released to Alaska State Troopers.
The next day, January 31, the AKRCC got a call from state troopers about a snowboarder injured in an avalanche at Turnagain Pass, about 64 kilometers southeast of JBER. “We took off pretty quick, got to the site, and fortunately the good Samaritans on site and on snowmachines had already prepared a flat area on the side of the hill that PJs could hoist into and put their litter down,” Seibold said.
As the helicopter crew flew toward Anchorage, transporting the hypothermic patient to Providence Alaska Medical Center, they got a second call. “During the mission, we got reports of an aircraft sinking through the ice about [64 to 80 kilometers] from where the HH-60 was,” Seibold said.
“After we dropped off the snowboarder at Providence hospital, our crews came back to JBER to refuel, and our PJ team refitted with dry suits and pack rafts in case they had to investigate in open water,” he said. “Once they got to the area where the mishap was reported, they saw four people walking about [6 kilometers] from the aircraft, so they hoisted a PJ down to ask them if they were on the plane sinking in the ice, and they said, ‘Yes.’”
The rescue team treated all four for hypothermia — from mild to severe — before hoisting them into the helicopter for transport to Providence Alaska Medical Center.
But that still left the broken HH-60 in Faro.
To get the helicopter out of Faro, officials sent an array of aircraft over the next week from Army and Air Guard units, along with an active-duty plane. A C-17 from the Air Guard’s 144th Airlift Squadron delivered air crew and mechanics to the closest major runway, at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, about 193 kilometers southwest of Faro. An Alaska Army Guard CH-47 Chinook flew from JBER to Faro to deliver parts, and an active-duty C-12 Huron from the 517th Airlift Squadron transported people and other supplies. The HH-60 finally returned to JBER on board the C-17 on February 6.