A Friendly Light In A Dark Sky

As darkness settled in over the southern Chesapeake Bay last night, Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 4, based in Salisbury, received a call for assistance from the US Coast Guard in a search for a boat taking on water with two people aboard. The boat was reported to be disabled and swamped. The crew of Trooper 4 immediately launched and headed toward the area.

While still on their way to the coordinates, the Trooper 4 pilot-in-charge saw a faint light in the water through his night vision goggles. Activating the forward-looking infra-red on the aircraft, the crew was able to spot the sinking vessel while still four miles away. The Trooper 4 crew immediately notified the US Coast Guard and the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office rescue boat of the location of the vessel.

After verifying the two people were still onboard the boat, Trooper 4 began an orbit overhead and illuminated the scene with the TrakkaBeam spotlight. The crew of the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office rescue boat used the spotlight to guide them to the disabled boat. Trooper 4 continued to light the scene as the two people were transferred to the sheriff’s boat and transported to safety.

The men and women of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command are proud to staff state-of-the-art aircraft that provide search and rescue, medevac, law enforcement and homeland security services to the people of our state and allied public safety agencies. The MSP Aviation Command is only a part of Maryland’s world renowned integrated emergency medical services system that is known as the best in the world.