MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Coast Guard to honor fallen flight crew in McKinleyville on 20th anniversary of helicopter crash

Media Availability

June 06, 2017 U.S. Coast Guard 11th District Pacific Southwest Contact: 11th District Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-3325 After Hours: (510) 772-8865

Coast Guard to honor fallen flight crew in McKinleyville on 20th anniversary of helicopter crash

WHO: Crewmembers from Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay

WHAT: Scheduled to honor Coast Guardsmen who died in a helicopter crash June 8, 1997

WHEN: Thursday at 2 p.m.

WHERE: 1001 Lycoming Way, McKinleyville, CA 95519 

MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif — The crew of Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay is scheduled to hold a memorial service Thursday at 2 p.m., in McKinleyville in remembrance of the crew and passengers of the CG-6549 helicopter that crashed 20 years ago during a search-and-rescue mission.

 

The ceremony will pay tribute to the two pilots and two crewmembers who lost their lives aboard a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter during an effort to save five mariners stranded on a Canadian sailing vessel during a storm.

 

Lt. Jeffrey F. Crane, 35, of Marshfield, Massachusetts; Lt. j.g. Charles W. Thigpen IV, 26, of Riverside, California; Aviation Machinist’s Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard L. Hughes, 33, from Black Canyon, Arizona; and Aviation Survivalman Petty Officer 3rd Class James G. Caines, 26, of Hinesville, Georgia, died in the line of duty.

 

Members of Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay will gather at the Humboldt Bay Memorial to pay their respects. Following the memorial, a Coast Guard helicopter crew is scheduled to lay a wreath at sea near the location of the crash.

Editor's Note: Media representatives interested in attending the memorial should contact Ensign Neil Romans at (707) 839-6011 no later than 10 a.m., Thursday. 

An MH-65C Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Humboldt Bay similar to the CG-6549 that crashed in 2007, hovers during high seas surf training, March 8, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard stock photo.  Click on image to download high resolution version.

 -USCG-