Flying Blind: Trust Is the Cornerstone for This Alaska Air Rescue Team

"What we didn't want to do was leave him up there for another couple days, because he would have died," the pilot of an Alaska Army National Guard Medevac flight told FLYING.

Kimberly Johnson

Thursday, March 03, 2022 at 06:03 PM ET

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The rescue earned the team the 2021 Rescue of the Year by the DUSTOFF Association. [Courtesy: Capt. Cody McKinney]

Key Takeaways:

The Alaska Army National Guard's Golf Company successfully rescued a sheep hunter stranded on a small, steep ledge at 5,800 feet in remote Alaska, despite treacherous whiteout conditions and an approaching snowstorm.
The highly technical hoist operation required the crew to push through cloud layers, with the flight medic having to land directly on the hunter due to unstable terrain and limited space.
The mission's success, which earned the team the 2021 DUSTOFF Association Rescue of the Year, was attributed to the crew's extensive training, profound mutual trust, and critical in-flight communication.

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Every year, more than 450 search and rescue (SAR) operations are conducted in Alaska, according to Alaska State Troopers, the statutory lead in all SAR efforts in the state. For more than 20 years, the Alaska Army National Guard has been one asset troopers have relied upon for assistance in remote SAR operations.

Last September, troopers turned to Alaska Army National Guard’s Golf Company, Detachment 1, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment for help. Medevac Commander and UH-60 Black Hawk Instructor Pilot Capt. Cody McKinney, along with flight medic Sgt. 1st Class Damion Minchaca and helicopter crew chief and hoist operator Staff Sgt. Sonny Cooper were part of a four-person team dispatched to try to rescue a sheep hunter who had been stuck on a ledge for two days. A snowstorm was moving in, and time was running out.