A “superb” act of piloting kept a Coast Guard helicopter out of the Gulf of Mexico, and the harrowing moments were captured in a video that has gone viral on social media.
The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was attempting to retrieve a passenger from a cruiseliner Saturday about 40 miles off the coast of Fort Morgan, Ala., according to Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans.
The passenger was experiencing heart attack-like symptoms and was in need of evacuation from the ship for medical care.
The chopper was accompanied by an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft as an escort
However, windy conditions made the retrieval of the passenger difficult, and the initial attempt was aborted.
“During the rescue, the aircrew experienced severe and rapidly deteriorating weather that forced them to abort the mission,” Cmdr. Keith Blair, commanding officer, Air Station New Orleans, told KPEL.com.
“Through exceptional real-time risk management, crew resource management, and superb piloting, the aircrew was able to safely recover the aircraft and land at the air station without further incident.”
The passenger was eventually retrieved and airlifted to medical care.