Helicopter Crash: Coast Guard Recovers Two More Bodies

March 2, 2012

The Coast Guard recovered the bodies of two crewmembers, Thursday, as the salvage of the MH-65C Dolphin helicopter that crashed in Mobile Bay continues.

The remains of Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor, of Snow Hill, N.C., and Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron, of Portland, Ore., were recovered by response personnel. The body of Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge was recovered Tuesday night after communications with the helicopter was lost during a training flight. Missing is Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight of Thomasville, Ala.

The Coast Guard suspended the active search and rescue operations Thursday night and are now conducting salvage and recovery operations.

“We saturated 95 percent of Mobile Bay for nearly two days with both aircraft and boats to thoroughly cover the search area. The decision to suspend the active search was terribly difficult,” said Capt. Donald J. Rose, commander of Coast Guard Sector Mobile. “Now, we must shift our focus to continuing salvage and recovery operations. As we continue to recover wreckage, we will look for the missing crewman.”

Coast Guard crews searched for 36 hours, conducting approximately 30 search patterns with track-line-search legs that covered 1,198 nautical miles within a search area of more than 200 square-nautical miles in an effort to locate the Coast Guardsmen. Crews and aircraft from multiple Coast Guard units, as well as several state and local first responder agencies, such as Alabama Marine Resources, Mobile Sheriff’s Department, Bon Secour Fire Department and Daphne Search and Rescue participated in the search efforts.

The tail section of the helicopter and other components were recovered Thursday by the crew aboard the Ben R. Johnson, a 57-foot salvage vessel. Wednesday night, the Ben R. Johnson recovered the helicopter fuselage from the bottom of Mobile Bay.

Pictured: A Coast Guard MH-65C based out of New Orleans on public relations visit to Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill in November 2010. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Helicopter Crash: Coast Guard Recovers Two More Bodies”

  1. So Sad on March 2nd, 2012 11:04 pm

    Praying for the families and friends of these men, what a tragedy.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News