U.S. Coast Guard crews have suspended their search for an overdue air ambulance with a pilot, nurse and paramedic on board overdue on a flight from Anchorage to Kake in Southeast Alaska.
The Coast Guard confirmed on the evening of Jan. 31 that a piece of aircraft debris was located in the search area appeared to be from the Guardian aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air 200.
The Coast Guard had conducted maritime and aerial searches for over 63 hours concentrated in an area of 240 square nautical miles. Partner agencies, including the Army Air National Guard, Alaska Maritime Highway ferries, Alaska State Troopers and three Southeast Alaska research and rescue units also conducted searches, but no other debris was located through the evening of Jan. 31.
The medivac flight out of Anchorage was due into Kake at 6:19 p.m. on Jan. 29, but never arrived.
“Suspending a search for any reason is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make,” said Capt. Stephen White, Sector Juneau commander. “This was an extensive search effort in some very challenging conditions.” White thanked search and rescue teams from Kake, Petersburg and Wrangell, state troopers, the Air National Guard and good Samaritans for their help in the search.
The Juneau-based crew on board was identified as pilot Patrick Coyle, 63; flight nurse Stacie Rae Morse, 30; and flight paramedic Margaret Langston, 43. Morse was 27 weeks pregnant.
Guardian Flight spokesperson Randy Lyman issued a statement saying that the company greatly appreciated the efforts of the Coast Guard, other organizations and the community to find the aircraft and crew.
“Our hearts are heavy and we respectfully offer our deepest thoughts and prayers to our lost employees and their families,” Lyman said. “This tragedy is dreadful for everyone as they were our friends and neighbors. We continue to ask for everyone’s prayers and support as we focus on the wellbeing of the surviving families and the entire Guardian Flight team,” he said.
Guardian Flight was founded in 1997 by Frontier Flying Service and grew rapidly over the next three years. Then in 2000 Guardian Flight emerged as a stand-alone, privately owned, critical care air ambulance service with its main base in Fairbanks, covering the Alaska Interior. In 2004, Guardian Flight established a base in Sitka and in 2005, added another base in Ketchikan. In 2006 and 2007 Guardian Flight expanded to Anchorage and Dutch Harbor to offer critical care air transport for Southcentral Alaska and the Aleutian Chain. A Kotzebue base was added in 2009, another in Juneau in 2011, and in the fall of 2014, Guardian Flight opened a new 57,000 square foot headquarters and hangar in Anchorage.
The company is accredited by the National Accreditation Alliance of Medical Transport Applications at the critical care level.
