Airmen repair helo in New Orleans, spend two days without food

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tim Bazar
  • 347th Expeditionary Rescue Group Public Affairs
JACKSON, Miss. (AFPN) --  After a complete electrical failure rendered an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter useless during search-and-rescue efforts near New Orleans on Sept. 1, Air Force officials were quick to deploy two staff sergeants to the scene.

When the call came in at 2 a.m., Staff Sgts. Brandon LaFountain and Kevin Deiser, both deployed here with the 347th Expeditionary Rescue Group from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., jumped into action. Two hours later they found themselves en route to one of the most chaotic areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

"We had to get that (helicopter) in the air and back on track so we could continue pulling people to safety," said Capt. Craig Giles, officer in charge of the maintenance unit. "We have a crucial role in the relief effort here and haven't missed a sortie yet."

Upon arrival the Airmen quickly diagnosed problems and compiled a parts list. But there was no way to communicate with headquarters and explain the problem. Luckily, they found a person with a working cell phone and called the order in. Then they sat and waited.

"It was total chaos," Sergeant LaFountain said. "People were sleeping anywhere they could take cover from the mosquitoes, and there wasn't a whole lot of food."

The parts needed to repair the Pave Hawk were not part of the inventory brought here for the rescue mission. They needed to be loaded on an inbound plane.

A C-130 Hercules taking off from Moody was literally stopped while taxiing to load the parts.

Four hours after the call, the much-needed parts, coupled with two packaged meals and a case of water, were delivered to the waiting Airmen at Naval Air Station New Orleans.

“They literally got off the bird, walked over to me and said, 'Here's your parts,’ and left," Sergeant LaFountain said. “I had no idea it would be such a quick turnaround."

When the repairs were made, the two went to the air traffic control tower seeking refuge from the massive number of mosquitoes, leaving only a note on the pilot's seat as to their location. Crowded, loud and extremely uncomfortable, the Airmen tried to catch a few hours sleep before heading out in the early morning light to wait for their departure.

But the helicopter was nowhere to be found.

"We couldn't believe it," Sergeant Deiser said. "Not only was our ride gone, but so were our (food) and water. It was quite a helpless feeling. But I kept thinking about all those people out there that are worse off than we were, and I knew we didn't have it nearly as bad."

The pilots had simply missed the note from the Airmen and left to fly rescue missions.

After 24 hours on the ground in New Orleans, 18 of which was without any word on their status, officials decided to send a familiar face to find the missing maintainers.

Because it would be difficult to identify the two Airmen among the massive amount of people staying at NAS New Orleans, officials decided to send another deployed Airman from their team -- one who could readily identify them.

Airman 1st Class Robert Eisen was their first choice. He had worked with the two since 2004 and could easily pick them out in a crowd.

Although Airman Eisen has been repairing helicopters since October 2004, this was his first opportunity to ride on one.

"Not only was I getting my first ride in something I've been working on for almost a year," he said, "I was getting the chance to contribute directly to the mission. Usually we only get to repair and launch helos and never get to see what they accomplish."

But a direct route to the Airmen's location was not in the cards. Several hours of searching and rescuing for survivors was the primary function.

When Airmen Eisen finally arrived around noon, the staff sergeants were eagerly waiting on the flightline.

"I was afraid they were lost," Airman Eisen said. "But we found them waiting patiently on the flightline."

But the adventure did not end there.

Once the crew located the missing sergeants, they unloaded some cargo and headed out again on a nine-hour search-and-rescue mission.

The crew went on to save 31 people, including four newborns, five expectant mothers and five critical patients.

"Even though it took a long time for them to come back for us and we didn't have much food or a solid place to sleep," Sergeant Deiser said, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."