Chilling rescue: Agent saves downed helicopter crew

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Jung
  • Air Force Office of Special Investigations Public Affairs
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AFPN) --  "I don't think I'm going to make it."

This was the chilling thought that ran through Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Jim Collins' mind as he swam for his life in the equally chilling, 50-degree, 300-foot deep, cholera-filled water of Lake Quadisiya in Iraq.

Approximately a half an hour earlier, on a cold and blustery Dec. 3, 2006, at Haditha Dam, Special Agent Collins witnessed a Marine CH-46 Sea Knight crash into the lake. Aboard the helicopter were 16 troops -- 14 passengers including a mix of Airmen, Soldiers, and Marines and the two Marine pilots.

During liftoff from the helipad on top of the dam, the CH-46's front end cleared the 4-foot wall in front of the helipad, but as the helicopter moved forward it lost power, its rear landing gear striking the wall of the dam. The helicopter pitched forward and nosed over the wall headed for the cold water of the lake 40 feet below. The pilots managed to bring the helicopter level as it hit the water.

"The belly of the CH-46 scraped the top of the wall and then the rear two tires hit the wall causing the CH-46 to go nose first over the wall. Murphy, Z (then Tech. Sgt. Noel Murphy and Senior Airman Eduardo Zamora) and I ran over to the wall. When we got to the wall we saw the CH-46 with the belly in the water and people bailing out in full battle rattle," Special Agent Collins said.

From the stricken helicopter, passengers and crew were jumping into the white-capped water of the lake weighed down with body armor, weapons and combat gear. Realizing that all that extra gear can easily add 50 to 75 pounds to each person now struggling to stay afloat in the water, Special Agent Collins said he knew they were in trouble and needed immediate help.

Special Agent Collins, a strong swimmer and a scuba dive instructor, knew about the effects of cold water and what it can do to the body, most often leading to hypothermia. Nonetheless, he raced down to a section of the wall where he could jump over and get to his endangered comrades in arms in the chilly lake.

"I went over the wall and down the ramp," Special Agent Collins said. "It's about 40 meters from the wall to the water where I took off my shoulder holster, boots and flight suit. Then I dove into the water and swam out about 40 to 50 meters where I found two people struggling in the water. The temperature of the water was a shock, it was enough to take your breath away."

The first two survivors Special Agent Collins encountered were Marines who bailed out of the downed helicopter. He pulled these two Marines in tow and started back toward shore where other troops who witnessed the crash had formed human chains to pull the survivors of the crash out of the lake, get them warm and dry, and render medical aid.

Pulling these two Marines to safety was no easy task as three factors were working against him. The two fought his every swim stroke toward shore due to their panicked states of mind. The combined weight of the two water-logged Marines and their combat gear were pulling all of them deeper into the water. In addition, the cold water was sapping Special Agent Collins' strength by the minute.

Eventually Special Agent Collins made it to the shore and handed off the two Marines to the rescuers on dry land and turned around and went back into the lake, knowing what inhospitable conditions faced his return.

Swimming out again toward the CH-46 crash site he found another survivor, a civilian contractor, and pulled him out of the water and to safety for his third rescue of the day.

The last time Special Agent Collins went out, he helped pull in one of the helicopter's crewmembers.

"The crewmember was frantic," Special Agent Collins said. "I was pushed under (the surface of the water) more than once. There was a time in the water where I didn't think I was going to make it back due to the passengers and crew pulling me under as I was helping them back to shore. I was in the water for about 25 to 30 minutes and after being in the water that long, I could feel the cold water taking a toll on my body and muscle control."

After making it to shore for the final time, Special Agent Collins spit out mouthfuls of the cholera-infested lake water. Exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, he said he still joined the rescuers on shore helping to pull more troops out of Lake Quadisiya.

"Between Murphy, Z and I, we pulled seven or eight people out of the water," he said. "At the end of the day, we (including the rescuers on shore) had rescued 10 of the 14 passengers."

On Jan. 15, 2008, Special Agent Collins was awarded the Air Force Airman's Medal for heroism and voluntary risk of life at Haditha Dam in recognition of his courageous acts in the rescue of 10 servicemembers from the CH-46 crash. Special Agent Collins is one of only three AFOSI Agents to be awarded the Airman's Medal since its inception.

The Airman's Medal was established by Congress on July 6, 1960 and is awarded to those Airmen who distinguish themselves by heroic actions, usually at the voluntary risk of life, but not involving actual combat.

Special Agent Collins was also awarded the Bronze Star and Air Force Combat Action Medal for his tour of duty in Iraq.

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