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AFRCC assists in search for missing aircraft with four onboard

  • Published
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center here worked with Wyoming Department of Military Affairs and Fremont County Emergency Management to search for a small aircraft with a father and three of his sons on board that went missing Oct. 25.

According to the Mooney M20J's flight plan, it was en route from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to Pierre, S.D., when radio and radar contact was lost near Wyoming's Gannett Peak in the Wind River Range.

"We received an alert notice from the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter Thursday afternoon," said Master Sgt. Anne Marie Norris, AFRCC Search and Rescue controller. "Once we received the notice and confirmed the aircraft was no longer in contact with Salt Lake City Center, we coordinated with the 37th Helicopter Squadron out of F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol to start conducting air searches."

The 37th Helicopter Squadron flew numerous missions searching for the missing aircraft from Oct. 26-30. The Wyoming Army National Guard launched a Blackhawk helicopter to aid in search efforts from Oct. 30-31.

"In addition to providing air support since the beginning of the search effort, the Civil Air Patrol provided cell phone and radar forensics," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Uppling, AFRCC duty officer. "This type of data is extremely helpful in narrowing the search area."

The AFRCC also received radar forensics from the Federal Aviation Administration and the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

The wreckage was located Nov. 2 by the ground search teams in a mountainous area in western Wyoming. Sadly, there were no survivors.

The Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit organization with 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited with saving 122 lives in fiscal year 2010. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.

AFRCC is the single agency responsible for coordinating all on-land federal search and rescue activities in the 48 contiguous United States, Mexico and Canada. Since January 2010, AFRCC has been involved in saving 520 lives, ranging from locating flood victims and missing/overdue aircraft and personnel to providing cell phone and radar forensic data to search and rescue teams.

"Every mission we are involved in is personal," said Lt. Col. Chuck Tomko, AFRCC commander. "This mission was not just about locating the missing father and his three sons; it was also about giving closure to the family members and friends who waited to hear about the status of their loved ones. Our thoughts go out to them during this extremely difficult time."

The family issued a statement to the media Nov. 2, which in part read, ""Our heroes throughout this ordeal are the incredibly courageous search team men and women who worked tirelessly over the past week to find our boys. Our gratitude for their efforts is infinite and we ask that everyone pray for their continued safety as the mission draws to a close."