At approximately 1:30 pm MST, five New Jersey National Guard aviators participating in a High Altitude Training exercise rescued three survivors of a private plane crash high in the Colorado Rockies somewhere between Vail and Aspen. Sergeant Fred Derry, a Crew Chief with the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 1159th Medical Detachment, was the first to spot the wreckage. After landing their UH-60A Blackhawk near the downed civilian aircraft, Chief Warrant Officer (CW4) Jim Den Hartog, CW4 Chris Millevoy, Captain William Hydamen, and Sergeant Leroy Metz joined in the rescue effort. Together with an instructor pilot from the Colorado National Guard’s High Altitude Training Facility headquartered at Eagle County Airport, the Guardsmen assisted an ambulatory male survivor get aboard their UH-60 and then used a portion of broken wing from the crashed aircraft as a stretcher to carry a more seriously injured female passenger to safety.

While en route to Vail Medical Center, a radio communication reported that a third survivor, another male passenger, had been picked up by an ambulance and was headed to the same hospital. The Army Guard helicopter then picked up the third survivor, who had traveled approximately 5 miles from the crash site in an effort to use his cell phone to call for help. A fourth passenger, a young child, did not survive the crash.

Four of the Jersey Guardsmen are full-time employees at the Army Aviation Support Facility in West Trenton. Captain Hydamen, recently off active duty, is employed by Comcast in Philadelphia. Den Hartog and Millevoy are instructor pilots; Derry is an enlisted flight instructor; Metz is an aircraft mechanic. All aviators receive some basic survival / first aid training. Military aircraft are equipped with an emergency locator transmitter (beacon) and a standard survival kit which includes basic medical supplies, food rations, water, water collection equipment, water purification kit, and a sleeping bag / blanket.

The New Jersey National Guardsmen were participating in the High Altitude training as part of their annual training requirements with the 1159th Medical Detachment. The unit, which is headquartered at the Trenton-Mercer Airport in West Trenton, New Jersey, uses their specially configured UH-60A Blackhawks to provide the Jersey Guard or other military personnel with MEDEVAC (medical evacuation / emergency medical) capability.

The High Altitude Training focuses on “Power Management”. Operating aircraft above 6,000 feet requires special skill and training. Aviators are taught to read terrain, anticipate unpredictable wind shifts, and how to cope with the effects of thin air and high altitude on engine and rotor performance. Functioning above 10,000 feet for periods of more than an hour can cause hypoxia. The civilian aircraft crashed above 10,000 feet.

The UH-60 Blackhawk was first introduced into military service circa 1983 and can accommodate 13 personnel. The standard crew aboard a MEDEVAC chopper includes two pilots, a crew chief, and a flight medic. The 1159th Medical Detachment is part of the 57th Troop Command, New Jersey Army National Guard.