The Alaska Air National Guard has been leading search and rescue efforts to locate a civilian medical helicopter that disappeared Dec. 3. The search team focused on an area about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage and, according to the Anchorage Daily News, on Saturday, found the body of a flight nurse and wreckage of the aircraft in Prince William Sound. The Alaska Air Guard’s 176th Wing led the search, employing HH-60 Pave Hawk and HC-130 aircraft, along with Coast Guard aircraft.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.