Carrier USS George W. Bush Assists Long-Range Rescue off Cape Hatteras

On Thursday, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier provided an assist in a long-range rescue mission off the coast of Cape Hatteras, aiding in the successful retrieval of survivors from a lost sailboat.

The mission started when Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a distress call from the crew of the sailing yacht Magic Bus, which was taking on water in foul weather. Five people were aboard and were abandoning ship into a life raft.

In response, the sector command center dispatched an HC-130C search aircraft out of Air Station Elizabeth City, along with a Jayhawk helicopter aircrew. The cutter Angela McShan also diverted towards the scene. The HC-130C aircrew arrived first and established contact with the survivors, verifying that all of the crewmembers made it successfully away into the raft.

The helicopter aircrew would take longer to arrive. The location of the casualty was about 260 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, pushing the limits of the Jayhawk's range. Luckily, a very large airfield was available nearby, with all of the equipment and resources needed to refuel a military helicopter: the supercarrier USS George W. Bush, which is currently on training maneuvers off the Mid-Atlantic states.

USS Bush provided fueling support for the mission, and the Jayhawk aircrew continued on to the scene of the sinking. The crew brought all five survivors safely aboard and delivered them to shore at Air Station Elizabeth City.