The Alaska Air National Guard’s rescue mission to the Yukon is still ongoing in response to an ultralight plane crash near the Town of Faro on Jan. 26, according to a public affairs officer.
Authorities have indicated the two occupants aboard the ultralight plane that crashed were safely rescued.
Alan Brown is listed as communications director for the U.S. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Joint Force Headquarters, Alaska National Guard.
Brown told the News by phone on Jan. 30 that an HH-60 Pave Hawk combat rescue helicopter flew into the remote part of the Yukon from Alaska in response to a crash near Faro, northeast of Whitehorse. He said the helicopter was aided by a HC-130J Combat King II, a fixed wing search and rescue plane. Per the U.S. air force website, the plane is capable of refuelling helicopters in mid air, allowing for long flights.
More information is expected to be available to the News on Monday, after the operation closes, Brown said.
A media relations coordinator with Transportation Safety Board of Canada, or TSB, confirmed a Chinook Plus 2 crashed on Sunday evening near Faro.
TSB investigates incidents involving air, marine, pipeline and rail modes of transportation.
The TSB media relations coordinator said the U.S. air national guard responded and rescued the two occupants of the plane.
Information is still being gathered and the occurrence near Faro is being assessed, according to the TSB.
As reported by the News, Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) said RCMP informed the Joint Rescue Coordination Center-Victoria about an ultralight aircraft crash near the Canadian town at 4:13 p.m. on Jan. 26.
After it was determined that the United States Air National Guard was the closest available asset, the U.S. air force tasked a C-130 Hercules and a Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk to help at the crash site, per DND.
"Which agency responds is generally determined by the proximity of the event to the nearest relevant asset," Sub-Lieutenant Simon Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves indicated the people aboard the flight were taken to the Whitehorse General Hospital for medical treatment.
Yukon RCMP communications said the pilot and passenger were both safely rescued. Their identities haven’t been released for privacy reasons, per police.
RCMP received an SOS activation after the crash.
RCMP said Yukon Search and Rescue staged the Faro area. A police search and rescue coordinator, RCMP officers from the Ross River-Faro detachment and conservation officers used snowmobiles to assist the air rescue coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Center-Victoria.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
