Fire rescue boat stranded on Susquehanna Flats needed rescuing by helicopter
(Susquehanna River / Susquehanna Flats; Image credits: Google Maps)
Although the Susquehanna River near the top of the Chesapeake Bay in northeastern Maryland is a prime location for boating fun and fishing, there’s a notorious area of the river up there known as the Susquehanna Flats where a large expanse of the river is only a few feet deep, an area where boaters regularly get stranded because there’s not enough water to float a boat.
This writer and his 18’ Cruise Craft spent an entire night back in the mid-1980s stuck on the flats’ silty bottom. Sometime in the middle of the night when high tide rolled in, I managed to jump out and push the boat over to the nearest channel marker until the sun came up. Fortunately for me at the time, it was summertime, and spending an overnighter on the boat wasn’t really a big deal.
But recently, after the sun set on the Chesapeake Bay this past November 26, with air temperatures in the 30s and Susquehanna River water temperatures in the 40s, a Maryland State Police helicopter crew had to rescue five people stranded on the Susquehanna Flats in the Havre de Grace / Perryville, Maryland area late that Friday night.
Shortly after 7:45 p.m., a Maryland State Police Aviation Command helicopter was dispatched to assist in locating a small fire company rescue boat, whose crew became disoriented and lost after rescuing three waterfowl hunters. After locating the missing boat, the Maryland State Police launched Trooper 1, a helicopter based at Martin State Airport at about 8:45 p.m. to assist with the extrication of five people stuck on the rescue boat.
The fire company boat, located in an area of the silt and mud-laden flats, was inaccessible by other rescue boats. Crews noted hypothermia was the concerns as temperatures were near freezing with winds gusting at to almost 30 miles per hour.
The hunters were returning from an outing when their boat encountered problems with the shifting tides and mud. Rescue crews from the Susquehanna Hose Company, the Harford County Department of Emergency Services Special Operations unit and several other agencies, were able to rescue the hunters approximately one hour after the initial 9-1-1 call. However, the crew on the small rescue boat became lost and stranded in shallow water and mud.
The four-person crew from Trooper 6 located the rescue boat with the three hunters and two rescuers aboard shortly before 9:20 p.m. The crew from Trooper 6 was running low on fuel and requested the assistance of Trooper 1 for an aerial (hoist) extraction.
The two pilots flying Trooper 1 maneuvered the AW-139 helicopter into position 100 feet above the hunters and rescuers. Trooper 1’s Corporal/Crew Chief lowered a rescue basket to the side of the rescue boat, where a hunter was able to climb in and then hoisted into the aircraft. That same evolution was completed four additional times to rescue the remaining hunters and fire company personnel.
All victims were successfully loaded and secured into the aircraft and taken to the National Guard Armory in Havre de Grace, where a Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps crew evaluated the five individuals for hypothermia. No injuries were reported during the nearly four-hour operation.
A United States Coast Guard helicopter based out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, was also dispatched to the scene.
According to the Maryland State Police, their Aviation Command has served Maryland citizens since 1970, and operates a fleet of 10 helicopters from seven bases throughout Maryland on a 24/7/365 basis. Missions include medevac, law enforcement, search & rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment. The success of rescues performed by the Aviation Command depends a great deal on the cooperative effort of local fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement agencies.
(Source: Maryland State Police)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
