January 2, 2007: Colorado Wing Flies Patrols Following Blizzard

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On January 2, 2007, the Colorado Wing of the Civil Air Patrol was out flying patrols looking for missing people and animals following a blizzard.


From NPR:

Drifting Snow Leaves People Stranded in Colorado : NPR: "A blizzard last week dumped several feet of snow in parts of Colorado and neighboring states. It was the second storm to hit the area in quick succession.

Col. Greg Cortum of Colorado's Civil Air Patrol talks to Renee Montagne about efforts to rescue stranded people and livestock."

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April 10, 2007: NPR Discusses Loudspeakers on CAP SAR Aircraft

On this date, April 10, 2007, NPR highlighted the possibility of CAP search and rescue aircraft using loud speakers.

From NPR:

Rescuers See Benefit in Search-Plane Loudspeakers : NPR: "Advocates say that in the event of a lost child or an approaching tsunami, Civil Air Patrol pilots could help by broadcasting messages to people on the ground from more than a mile away.

Scott Bakker, commander of the Civil Air Patrol's 105th Squadron in Oregon, talks to Melissa Block about the new loudspeakers."

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January 6, 2007: Colorado CAP Searches for Stranded Drivers, Cattle After Blizzard

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On this date in 2007, the Colorado Civil Air Patrol searched for stranded travelers and cattle following a massive blizzard.

An excerpt from the Washington Times:

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) sent six planes into the air yesterday over Colorado's Kit Carson County, where there had been reports of more people snowbound along Interstate 70, even though that highway was reopened Sunday after two days, patrol 1st Lt. Steve Hamilton said. On Sunday, CAP crews spotted two stranded vehicles with five persons near the Kansas state line, along with several trucks whose crews chose to stay with their rigs, Lt. Hamilton said.

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January 2, 2007: Kansas, Nebraska CAP Wings Help Spot Motorists Stranded in Blizzard

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On this date in 2007, Civil Air Patrol pilots from the Kansas and Nebraska Wings helped authorities spot motorists stranded from a massive central plains blizzard.

An excerpt from USA Today:

Utility crews in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma worked to restore power to thousands cut off for up to four days since the powerful storm struck the region from Thursday through Saturday. Civil Air Patrol pilots in Colorado and Kansas spotted stranded motorists and abandoned cars, then radioed locations to ground rescuers.

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December 15, 2007: CAP Assists in Project to Use Computers to Fight Wildfires

Image by slworking2 via FlickrOn this date, the New York Times reported on a researcher's plan to use computers to fight wildfires and how the Civil Air Patrol was assisting in the project.

An excerpt:

The United States Forest Service is supplying data on soil moisture. The Civil Air Patrol, the civilian air-rescue arm of the Air Force, is sending images from its training flights. Ash from the fires in California is being analyzed in Colorado and will be used to help project Grand County’s expected ash composition from fire.

The researchers say that if ever there was a place to see what fire science can achieve before a fire actually erupts, Grand County is the candidate. The population and number of second homes are growing rapidly, and the forest that tucks in around the new homes is dying, attacked by beetles that are killing lodgepole pines in numbers that scientists say they have never seen.

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November 28, 2007: Mississippi Wing Finds USAF Trainer Crash Site

On this date, members of the Mississippi Wing of the Civil Air Patrol successfully located the crash locations of two United States Air Force T-6 Texan II trainers.  Both pilots ejected safely.

Commentary from one of the participants in the search:

On November 28, 2007, our Civil Air Patrol Squadron was called to search for the wreckages of a crash of two T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft based at Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi. The aircraft had collided in mid-air near an auxilliary air strip near Shuqualak, Mississippi. . . Our mission was to locate the aircraft and photograph the crash sites. . .  Although the air crew of this plane had been recovered, they had apparently been walking some distance when they were found, and so the location of this crash site was unknown until our aircrew found it.

Photo by Roger Smith.
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November 8, 2007: Two CAP Members Die in Crash During Fossett Search in Nevada

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On this date in 2007, the Civil Air Patrol lost two members during their search for adventurer Steve Fossett when their single-engine CAP Cessna 182 Skylane crashed into Mount Potosi southwest of Las Vegas.

An excerpt from a Nevada blog:

The crash was estimated to be about 1,300 feet from the top of the 8,514 foot tall Mount Potosi, according to the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report. The glass cockpit Cessna 182 was destroyed by fire. Killed were the Nevada Wing Commander of the Civil Air Patrol, Colonel Dion E. DeCamp and the Pacific Region Director of Operations and a former national vice commander, Colonel Edwin W. Lewis Jr.   The National Transportation Safety Board Report

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September 18, 2007: Nevada Civil Air Patrol Scales Down Search for Steve Fossett

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On this date in 2007, the Nevada Wing of the Civil Air Patrol reduced its search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett.

An excerpt from the BBC:

The search for US adventurer Steve Fossett has been scaled back two weeks after his plane vanished over the Nevada wilderness, officials say.

Nevada Civil Air Patrol has suspended aerial searches and put two planes on standby to follow any new leads.

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August 21, 2007: Three Die in CAP Plane Crash in Wyoming

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On this date in 2007, three people died in Wyoming when a Civil Air Patrol plane crashed during a search for a missing teen who was found alive an hour after the mishap.

An excerpt from the Sioux City Journal:

SHELL, Wyo. (AP) -- A Civil Air Patrol plane being used to search for a missing teenager crashed and burned in the Bighorn National Forest, killing the three people aboard, officials said Tuesday.  The plane went down Monday evening and was destroyed by fire, said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.

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June 2, 2007: Civil Air Patrol Provides Flyovers After Iowa Tornado

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On this date in 2007, a tornado hit eastern Iowa and the Civil Air Patrol assisted in the disaster assessment.

An excerpt from the Sioux City Journal:

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Cleanup efforts in eastern Iowa intensified Saturday following a tornado that damaged as many as 100 homes in three eastern Iowa communities, according to police.  Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, working with officials from FEMA, had teams surveying Louisa and Muscatine counties Saturday morning for preliminary damage estimates. . . . State troopers patrolled the small town of Fruitland Friday night, which officials say has sustained heavy damage. The Civil Air Patrol also performed flyovers over the area.

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May 17, 2007: Alabama CAP Finds Site of Fatal Helicopter Crash

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On this date, members of the Alabama Civil Air Patrol found the crash site of a fatal helicopter crash.

An excerpt from KTKA-TV.

Rescue crews recovered the body of John Scott, 26, of Pomona (Kansas), after a two-day search.

He was flying alone from Lakeland, Fla. to Topeka, when the helicopter crashed in a heavily forested region of north Alabama Sunday.

The helicopter went down in the Bankhead National Forest, which covers about 180,000-acres. Scott was found dead in the wreckage.

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April 28, 2007: George CAP Members Locate Missing Piper Tomahawk.

On this date in 2007, members of the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol located the wreckage of a missing Piper Tomahawk in northwest Georgia. The pilot did not survive the crash.

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April 26, 2007: CAP Involved in Search for Plane That NTSB Said Was Delayed by Miscommunication

On this date in 2007, the Civil Air Patrol was involved in a search for a light plane that crashed in Georgia.  The search was a delayed because of a miscommunication between the FAA and the AFRCC.

An excerpt from Avstop.com:

On April 26, 2007, about 1430 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-38-112, N9247T, crashed into trees and rising mountainous terrain at Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawsonville, Georgia, while attempting to stay below overcast cloud conditions. 

The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, eventually died as a result of the accident, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed near the accident site. 

The flight originated from Habersham County Airport, Cornelia, Georgia, about 1400, destined for Lunken Field, Cincinnati, Ohio. Evidence indicates that the pilot likely survived the accident and activated an emergency transponder code but died before the airplane was located.

Shortly after the crash, controllers at the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZTL) noticed an unidentified stationary radar target about 50 nautical miles (nm) north of Atlanta. Beginning about 1534, the target transmitted transponder code 7700, which is a dedicated emergency code reserved for use by aircraft in distress, and its use by the accident pilot caused a special flashing "EMRG" alert to appear on ZTL radar displays. . .

Once the report for the incident south of Atlanta was closed, that also ended any activity related to the ELT reports and radar observations north of Atlanta provided by ZTL’s TMC.

Thus, no SAR effort was begun for N9247T until family members reported the accident airplane missing the following day. As there was evidence that the pilot survived the crash, this was a critical SAR failure.

Based on the family's report of the missing airplane, the Dayton, Ohio, Flight Service Station (FSS) issued an Alert Notice (ALNOT) about 1247. According to the AFRCC’s mission log, the AFRCC began attempting to locate the airplane immediately upon receipt of the ALNOT. Air searchers located the airplane about 49 hours after the accident, and the ground team arrived shortly afterward. The team reported that the pilot was deceased.

During the search, the AFRCC activated Civil Air Patrol (CAP) wings in four states, coordinated information gathering activities with numerous FAA air traffic control (ATC) and Lockheed flight service facilities, and obtained radar analysis assistance from CAP and U.S. Air Force (USAF) air defense personnel. The extensive effort was necessary mainly because the AFRCC controller did not understand the FAA’s communication about the existence and location of the 7700 emergency signal being transmitted by N9247T.

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April 17, 2007: CAP Orders 31 Cessna Skylanes

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On this date, the Wichita Business Journal reported that the Civil Air Patrol purchased 31 new Cessna 182Ts (Skylanes).

An excerpt:

The Civil Air Patrol ordered 29 Skylanes and two turbocharged Skylanes to add to its fleet. CAP uses its aircraft for its cadet programs, aerospace education, and search-and-rescue missions. Based on list prices for a 182 Skylane and 182 turbocharged Skylane, the order is worth $10.9 million.

Read more: Cessna wins orders totaling $20.9M - Wichita Business Journal:

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March 28, 2007: Sen. Ted Stevens Introduces Senate Resolution Honoring 65th Anniversary of CAP

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On this date in 2007, Sen. Ted Stevens and a number of other Republican and Democratic U.S. Senators introduced Senate Resolution 132, honoring the Civil Air Patrol's 65th Anniversary.

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the Civil Air Patrol for 65 years of service to the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Civil Air Patrol was established on December 1, 1941, in the Office of Civilian Defense;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas during World War II the volunteer units of the Civil Air Patrol conducted search and rescue missions, provided air transportation for military personnel and cargo, towed targets for the training of Army Air Corps gunners, and patrolled the coasts of the United States searching for enemy submarines;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas by the end of World War II the Civil Air Patrol had flown more than 500,000 hours, sunk 2 German U-boats, and saved hundreds of crash victims;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas on July 1, 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was chartered by the United States as a nonprofit, benevolent corporation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas on May 26, 1948, the Civil Air Patrol was permanently established as a volunteer auxiliary of the United States Air Force;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas since 1942 the cadet programs of the Civil Air Patrol have trained more than 750,000 youth, providing them with leadership and life skills;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas since 1942 the Civil Air Patrol has flown more than 1,000,000 hours of search and rescue missions, saving several thousand lives; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas since 1951 the aerospace education programs of the Civil Air Patrol have provided training and educational materials to more than 300,000 teachers, who have educated more than 8,000,000 students about aerospace: Now, therefore, be itCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Resolved, That the Senate recognizes the Civil Air Patrol for 65 years of service to the United States.

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March 21, 2007: Albany, Georgia CAP Squadron Finds Downed Plane

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On this date in 2007, the Albany (Georgia) Squadron located the fatal crash site of a light airplane.

An excerpt from WALB-TV via the squadron website:

An Albany Civil Air Patrol unit located the wreckage of a small plane today that crashed in Talbot County. The pilot was the only person on board and was killed.  A plane en route from Tampa to Minneapolis, missing since Sunday, was found this morning around 9 AM, by the Civil Air Patrol crew from Albany.

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March 16, 2007: Oregon CAP Wing Finds Downed Plane, Pilot Alive

On this date in 2007, the Oregon Wing of the CAP spotted a downed aircraft and its pilot, who survived the crash.

And excerpt from the the Salem (Oregon) News:

A Klamath Falls pilot who crashed his Cessna 182 airplane late Friday night was found alive by Civil Air Patrol pilots. The group launches aircraft to aid in the search of missing pilots and planes.  Oregon's CAP Wing was alerted to the report of a downed Cessna 182 in Southern Oregon west of Diamond Lake after the pilot reported around 11:00 PM that he was low on fuel.  Communicating with the Seattle Air Center, the pilot was advised to set his transponder to a certain frequency. This device sends out a signal that can be read by search crews to determine the location of a missing plane or boat.

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