The Air Education and Training Command’s 36th Rescue Flight at Fairchild AFB, Wash., recovered a woman who was bucked off a mule near Sherman Pass, Wash. The Fairchild crew flew their UH-1 helicopter directly to the Pass and, despite the rough terrain, was able to land within about 100 feet. The rescue was No. 614 for the 36th RQF, which works with the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school at Fairchild. In another recent rescue, airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla., were flying their HH-60 Pave Hawk back to Patrick via a weather-induced circuitous route when they saw a 21-foot boat running up the Atlantic with no one at the helm. They kicked off a search with the Coast Guard and other rescue forces, including two more AFRC helicopters, preparing for nighttime training missions. The two new helos followed the search pattern of the previous crew and finally spotted 66-year-old Russell Alger in the choppy water. Two pararescuemen jumped in to get Alger in a hoist.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…