Search and Rescue Trainees caught up in Live Rescue

24 April 2013

A Griffin helicopter of the Search and Rescue Training Unit (SARTU) at RAF Valley has completed an actual Search and Rescue off Anglesey, in North Wales.

The crew, made up of Instructional staff from the Defence Helicopter Flying School, based at RAF Shawbury, were airborne on a training flight as ZJ703 (a Griffin HAR 2), callsign Pedro 84. The helicopter departed RAF Valley at 1315 on Friday 19 April 2013 on an opportunity deck training sortie as part of the crew development phase of the Albanian SAR course. Shortly after departing RAF Valley the staff Winch Operator, Mr Taff Chaplin spotted 2 canoeists in distress a short distance off South Stack lighthouse. He directed the aircraft Captain, Mr John Harrison, to the scene where they found that one of the pair had fallen out of his canoe and was too cold and exhausted to climb back in. Having checked that Rescue 122 (the C Flight 22 Sqn SAR 1^st Standby Sea King) was not immediately available (C Flight conceded that Pedro 84 was best placed to complete the rescue) the staff crew took over and Mr “Chic” Pritchard was deployed to recover both canoeists to the aircraft. Although cold and exhausted the canoeists were otherwise unharmed and were dropped off with the coastguard at Holyhead. Pedro 84 then returned to the scene to assist the Treaddur Bay Inshore Rescue Boat and the SMIT Tamar (SARTU training boat) in the recovery of the canoes and equipment. Although the Albanian students were not directly involved with the rescue itself this was a good opportunity for them to see how a SAROP can unfold and how the techniques they have been learning is applied to such a scenario.
Students move to SARTU on completion of their course at RAF Shawbury, having completed over 14 months flying the Squirrel and then the larger Griffin helicopters. The training at SARTU then allows them to move on SAR Flights across the UK.
Editor: Sqn Ldr Hope
RAF/MOD Crown Copyright 2013