Posted on 02/06/2009 10:14:54 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
PADRE ISLAND - A navy helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing on the Island after discovering it was having engine problems.
Minutes before landing, the Sea Dragon helicopter had been over the Gulf of Mexico taking part in a minesweeping training mission. The pilot noticed a problem with the transmission and began looking for a place to land the helicopter.
"As we were coming up the beachline and over the top of the southern part of the Island, there was no safe place to land. The first open field that we saw that we could make a safe landing on was [a driving range]," Navy Lieutenant Blaine Cardinale said.
The Padre Isles driving range is barely five miles from the base, but Navy procedures required the crew to immediately land at the first available site.
"We didn't know what was going on. We knew it was flying low, but didn't really think that it would actually have technical difficulties or whatever was going on with it," Andrew Horne, a golfer, said.
Home video taken by another golfer showed a near picture perfect landing, and there was nothing that would indicate the sense of urgency that actually existed.
The pilot said even in such a tense moment, he made sure no one below was ever in danger.
"We obviously, if there were people in this immediate area, would not have chosen this site, with their safety in mind, but everyone that we saw when we cleared into the zone was well back by the country club building," Cardinale said.
"Last thing I would have expected today. I was just trying to get in a day of golf, and a helicopter lands in the middle of the range," Horne said.
After a careful evaluation, the helicopter was given the all-clear to return to the naval air station.
Online Reporter: Bart Bedsole
Glad they made it in safely. Very good news indeed...
So glad they made a safe landing.
good news
This is obviously a different situation, but it reminded me of this:
Fore!
As Blaine said, “Any time the crew walks away safely, it’s a good landing.”
Turns out it was just a golf ball in the blow hole.
At The Padre Isles driving range?
If you can use the aircraft again, it's a great landing! ;-)
God bless the men that fly and fight.
/johnny
Wanna bet it was iron in the tranny oil?
Calm clear heads in time of high stress. Gotta love these guys.
Too bad... they probably didn’t pack their clubs. Could’ve gotten in a quick nine before fixing the thing.
YES
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