Coast Guard safely medevacs 4 people to Guam following plane crash off Chuuk

Coast Guard safely medevacs 4 people to Guam following plane crash off Chuuk

HONOLULU – A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point, Oahu, with a Deployed Medical Assistance Team successfully evacuated four people to Guam Sunday after a plane landed in the water approximately a quarter of a mile off the airport runway in Weno, Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, September 28, 2018.

At 11:54 p.m. (CHST) watchstanders at the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam received an alert via an emergency locator transmitter beacon registered to an Air Niugini Boeing 737.   

The FSM National Government requested medevac assistance for four people. JRSC Guam submitted a request for forces for an aircraft, a disaster medical assistance team and two air crews to arrive in Chuuk.

"The success of this medevac operation is owed largely in part to the strong and continued partnerships between the Coast Guard and the FSM government entities and the search and rescue liaisons of each Micronesian State," said Lt. Charles Cummings, SAR Mission Coordinator, Sector Guam. "The solid foundation that exists between us highlights the importance of an efficient global rescue network, especially in these remote locations of the Pacific where logistics can be very challenging. This case resulted in the four people in need reaching higher level care in an expedited manner, two receiving life-saving treatment, thanks to that strong network."

The air crew arrived in Chuuk at 10 p.m. September 29, and departed less than an hour later en route to Guam International Airport. Emergency Medical Services were standing by to take the four people to the Naval Hospital where they received care. 

-USCG-