Kingfisher SAR plane joins U.S. Coast Guard in medical rescue of Canadian mariner

Canada’s new search-and-rescue plane was back in action on Thursday, as a CC-295 Kingfisher based out of 19 Wing Comox was deployed for a joint rescue with the U.S. Coast Guard off the Oregon Coast.

The Canadian Forces said the aircraft was called out around 11:30 a.m. to help support the medical evacuation of a Canadian mariner from a fishing boat about 300 kilometres offshore from Astoria, Oregon.

“Our job was top cover, so what we do is we stay with the helicopter, we stay with the boat, we maintain visual contact throughout the whole rescue, and if there is any issue with the helicopter, any emergency, we are able to help them,” explained Capt. Rock Veilleux, the Kingfisher’s first officer.

Aircraft commander Capt. Bryn Evans said the crew remained in communication with the fishing vessel, directing them on a heading to the pickup point where it would meet a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

1:32 Canada’s newest search and rescue plane makes night jump to rescue crushed horseback rider

The Canadian team coached the fishing vessel crew through clearing their decks to prepare for a search-and-rescue technician to hoist down from the helicopter, he added.

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‘The interoperability between us and the U.S. Coast Guard was excellent,” he said, adding that the two forces often train together.

“All of that activity really pays a lot of dividends; the rescue (Thursday) went off without a hitch.”

The rescued mariner was flown directly to a U.S. medical facility, and is recovering.

The deployment comes about a week after the crew of a Comox-based Kingfisher completed the first operational night jump from one of Canada’s newest search-and-rescue planes, parachuting to rescue an injured hunter in northeastern B.C.

The RCAF took delivery of the Kingfishers in 2020 after years-long procurement effort to replace its 50-year-old fleet of DHC-Buffalo and CC-130H Hercules planes.