Incredible rescue by RAF SAR helicopter winchwoman
The crewman had serious head injuries and was onboard a 25 metre French fishing vessel, 'ALF'. A Royal Navy Hydrographic vessel (HMS Echo) and a RNLI lifeboat, 'ANGLE', also attended.
The Irish Sea weather 50 miles west of Milford Haven was ferocious and the ‘ALF’ was pitching and rolling violently, climbing and descending vertically 40 ft with each swell and rolling violently. The 35 knot wind whipped up spray and the sheeting rain, hampering visibility.
UK Crown Copyright/MoD 2013
The ALF’s captain spoke very little English, so a three-way translation service was arranged via satellite phone involving English and French Coastguards and the crew of RESCUE 169. They managed to brief the French captain about how the RAF helicopter crew intended to get the crewman off the fishing boat.
The ‘ALF’s captain passed on a message revealing the injured crewman’s condition had continued to deteriorate and he had unstoppable head bleeding, so a rapid airlift was now absolutely vital.
Winchwoman Sergeant Rachel Robinson made six separate, hazardous descents on the winch-wire in an attempt to reach the ALF’s tiny, heaving deck. So violent were the seas that Robinson was repeatedly snatched from ALF’s tiny deck as the boat plunged into wave troughs far faster than the winch cable could be paid out.
Due to the horrendous sea state, Flight Lieutenant ‘Taff’ Wilkins – the Sea King’s captain – suggested that a boat-to-boat transfer should be tried to move the casualty to the nearby RNLI lifeboat 'ANGLE' from which a further airlift could be attempted from ANGLE’s less cluttered deck. However, the Sea King was running out of fuel, so a swift refuel was arranged at Haverford West to prepare for a second attempt.
UK Crown Copyright/MoD 2013
Returning once more, the crew of RESCUE 169 found it had proven impossible to conduct the boat-to-boat transfer. Things were becoming more difficult as neither of the Sea King’s pilots could see the French vessel. Thanks to the presence of a fluent French-speaker onboard HMS Echo, a revised plan was conveyed to the French vessel’s captain. This involved getting RNLI lifeboat ANGLE into a position 20 metres on the ALF’s starboard side, whilst HMS Echo moved closer to shield ALF from the weather and sea state. The presence of the RNLI boat gave pilot Taff Wilkins his only fixed visual reference from which he worked out a stable hover above the ALF.
Robinson was lowered twice more, but again, the pitching seas ripped her from the vessel. However, her third attempt was successful and she managed to detach from the winch-wire and assessed the casualty. Seeing his perilous condition, Robinson elected to conduct an immediate, single-strop recovery. Making use of the ALF’s slightly more predictable roll and pitch rates, Taff Wilkins calculated the lift to the optimum second, climbing his Sea King as the ALF reached the top of a swell and plucking Robinson and the casualty clear of the deck.
The casualty was treated en-route for head injuries and hypothermia and was taken to Swansea Moriston Hospital. Due to the actions of the crew of RESCUE 169 and Winchwoman Rachel Robinson’s incredible fortitude, the injured crewman survived.
UK Crown Copyright/MoD 2013
