A Coast Guard helicopter pilot received the Distinguished Flying Cross this month for his work commanding an hours-long rescue operation in late 2023 to save four people stranded at a canyon.
The rescue operation had to overcome severe weather, mechanical issues, limited fuel and expanding objectives. Despite all of the obstacles, Lt. Cmdr. Jacob Conrad and his crew were able to rescue the stranded people and ferry them to safety. Conrad was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at a ceremony on Dec. 12.
“There are only a few folks I know who could have done this,” Capt. Christopher Huberty, commander of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco said at the event, per KTVU.
The award is given for “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.” The Dec. 29, 2023 rescue operation Conrad and his crew went on had a large amount of challenges to overcome. Two teenagers had become stranded at a canyon in Yolo County, California, northwest of Sacramento. Both were injured, one severely after falling 100 feet down into the canyon, while the other was at the top of the cliff.
Conrad, along with MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew of co-pilot Lt. j.g. Thomas Smith, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jordan Sanchez, and rescue swimmer Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Romano off at night towards the canyon. A winter storm hit the area, causing trouble for navigation and causing the helicopter to ice. The crew was forced to make an emergency landing.
The four took off again at daylight. After the initial rescue mission started, the objectives only grew. A ground-based rescue crew had also deployed, but the two had also become stranded near the canyon after the storm caused a rockslide. Conrad flew the helicopter into the valley with the canyon, traveling three miles into it like a trench run, before the Coast Guard crew spotted the trapped people. Now there were new challenges. Fuel was low and the weather still wasn’t great.
“Maneuvering into the fog bank above, he established a precision hover over the survivor’s position,” the Coast Guard said in the announcement. “While at a critical fuel state and surrounded by mere feet on three sides by overhanging rocks and trees, he overcame numerous hoist hazards and deployed the rescue swimmer to the cliff 200-feet below.”
In a short bit of video and audio from the rescue released by the Coast Guard, the MH-65 Dolphin can be seen fighting the wind to hold steady as Romano lowers down to the brush and rock-covered point to rescue the crew. “Ground speed is significantly higher than our air speed right now,” he said in released audio from the rescue.
Winds picked up and fuel was nearly gone. Conrad held the helicopter steady though and Romano made four descents total to recover the injured and trapped people.
The rest of the Coast Guard helicopter crew were also honored this month. Sanchez, Smith and Romano, all received Air Medals for their roles in the rescue.
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