38 IN THE COCKPIT A SPECTACULAR RESCUE IN GREENLAND A Super Puma and its Norwegian operator Airlift made headlines last June when they performed an extraordinary rescue mission in Greenland. <strong>Rotor</strong>r pays homage to the seasoned flight crew, who knew just when to take a well-calculated risk. Adistress call from Greenland was transferred to the Governor of Svalbard (1) by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of North Norway: A cross-country skier had developed a case of acute appendicitis and was in danger of dying if help did not arrive immediately. But Airlift’s rescue teams were faced with a serious problem: The victim could not move and was separated from the rescue base in Longyearbyen by more than 600 nautical miles (nm) of mostly sea and ice. The range of the helicopter available for the mission—an AS332 C Super Puma LIMSAR—was less than 250 nm due to its onboard equipment. To make matters worse, the only refueling point along the way was 60 nm away in Ny-Alesund, the westernmost point of Svalbard. “There were two key factors for the mission: available fuel and weather conditions,” explained SAR Commander on Duty Arne Martin Lie, who was also the pilot for the rescue mission. A resolute flight crew that refused to give in to fatigue was another determining factor. It took Airlift’s team nearly twelve hours, from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m., to complete the mission, “with a good meal under our belts and a bite to eat during the flight”. The only solution was to bring onboard five 200-liter containers of fuel to supplement the 1,700 liters in the standard fuel tanks and the 400 liters in the auxiliary tank so that the crew could do its own refueling. The Super Puma also had to carry four passengers in addition to the flight crew: two technicians and two medics. The fighting spirit of the rescue team was vindicated by the weather conditions, which were favorable for the most part. “We were still concerned because the helicopter we normally fly, which is equipped with a deicing system, was on the ground for maintenance,” added Arne Martin Lie. “The helicopter we used for the mission had no such system.” R O T O R JO URNAL - NO . 8 3 - OCT O BER/ N O VEMBER 2009 ARTICLE: RÉGIS R NOYÉ The mission was broken down into three legs. During the flight out—a 390 nm journey to reach Station North, a base camp and the initial target for lost explorers—the helicopter stopped along the way to refuel in Ny Alesund. “Two hours and twenty minutes later, before we reached the point of no return over the sea, we finally had a good view of Greenland under blue skies and we knew that we would be able to complete the leg,” recalled Hermod Lund, the co-pilot for the mission. After refueling from the containers loaded in the cabin at Station North, the crew set off for the rescue itself and came back, totaling 420 nm. Mr. Lie continued: “It was on the way back to Longyearbyen that the weather soured on us. We were above the sea, about 80 nautical miles from Ny Alesund, when we had to climb to 9,000 feet to avoid a cloudbank that could have caused icing problems. Luckily for us, the view at that altitude was completely clear and we caught a great tailwind of around 50 knots. We were able to fly straight back home, covering a distance of 388 nm!” The flight crew was thus able to reduce to a minimum the time it took for the victim to receive care in Longyearbyen. It is hardly surprising that the flight crew is extremely proud of their feat. It was the first time that they had flown such a distance, and it was their first time to Greenland. Mr. Lie talked about his experience: “We were extremely excited about this mission. Besides the enormous amount of confidence we had in our helicopter, we were also bolstered by many favorable factors. At this time of year, we have daylight 24 hours a day at these latitudes. We were also in permanent contact with our base via satellite telephone. Another important factor was that we have been working together for such a long time. It was just great to see that the whole system worked without a hitch!” ■ (1) Svalbard is a small group of Norwegian islands that were granted special status in a treaty signed in 1925. Through a contract signed with the company Airlift, the Governor of Svalbard can call on two helicopters—one AS332 L1 Super Puma AWSAR and one AS365 N2 Dauphin LIMSAR—based at Longyearbyen airport for SAR missions.
39 ROT RO ROT ROTO R OTO O TO T O R RJO R JO J JO URNA URN RNA RNAL NA L- L - NO. NO NNO NO. O 83 8 - - OCT O CT CCT T OBER OBB E R /NOV /NO /N /NOV / NOV EM EMB EMBE MMBE BE B E R R2 R 2 20 2 2 0 09 © Eu Eu E rocoo roco oco oc pter p te / PPatri atrick ck kP P Penna enna
Change language