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Aircraft Mfr's Number: 701307

Built by:: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Modified Model*:: HH-60G
Effectivity:: 1093
Lot Number:: 12
Mfr. Date:
Aircraft Status:: written-off
Last Updated:: 2024-06-17

* The model displayed above will either be the aircraft's birth or earliest modified model. To see the aircrafts modification history see the below Aircraft Historical Events.

Aircraft Historical Events: Entry 1

Date	Tail Number	Model	Country	Operator
1989	88-26110	HH-60G		U.S. Air Force
In 1989 the Aircraft was accepted into the Air Force Inventory and assigned to the 102nd Air Rescue Squadron (102nd ARS) at Gabreski Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Westhampton Beach, New York.

Aircraft Historical Events: Entry 2

Date	Tail Number	Model	Country	Operator
30 October 1991	88-26110	HH-60G		U.S. Air Force
On 30 October 1991 the aircraft, call sign “Jolly 110,” headed out into a hurricane that would become known as “The Perfect Storm,” to attempt a rescue 250 miles out to sea. Aboard were Major C. David Ruvola, pilot; Captain Graham Buschor, co-pilot; Staff Sergeant James R. Mioli, flight engineer; and pararescue jumpers Technical Sergeant John Spillane and Technical Sergeant Arden Rick Smith. Due to the severity of the storm (a weather buoy located 264 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, reported a wave height of 100.7 feet the highest ever recorded in that part of the Atlantic Ocean) the Pave Hawk crew was unable to make the rescue and had to return to their base. Having already refueled from the Lockheed HC-130 Hercules tanker three times during the mission, and with low fuel, a fourth refueling was needed for the helicopter to make it back to the mainland. Because of the extreme turbulence and lack of visibility, Jolly 110 could not contact the refueling drogue trailing behind the airplane. Major Ruvola made more than 30 attempts, but finally both drogues were damaged by the severe conditions. With just twenty minutes of fuel remaining, and unable to refuel, Major Ruvola made the decision to ditch the helicopter into the sea while the engines were still running. Finally, at 9:30 p.m. the number one engine flamed out from fuel starvation. Ruvola held the Pave Hawk in a hover over the raging ocean while Buschor, Mioli, Spillane and Smith jumped. When the number two engine flamed out, Ruvola put the Pave Hawk into a hovering autorotation, its blades coming to a sudden stop when they hit the face of an oncoming wave. Ruvola was about 15 feet underwater by the time he was able to escape from the sinking helicopter. The Pave Hawk had gone down 90 miles south of Montauk Point in 100-knot winds and 80-foot waves. After five hours in the water, four of the five airmen were rescued by USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC-166), a 48-year-old former U.S. Navy fleet tug, operated by the Coast Guard since the end of World War II as a medium endurance cutter. The search for Rick Smith continued for a week. He was never found. Unit Involved: 102nd Air Rescue Squadron Mishap Location: Atlantic Ocean, 90 miles south of Montauk Point, New York Fatalities: 1

Date

Tail Number

Model

Country

Operator

30 October 1991

88-26110

HH-60G

U.S. Air Force

On 30 October 1991 the aircraft, call sign “Jolly 110,” headed out into a hurricane that would become known as “The Perfect Storm,” to attempt a rescue 250 miles out to sea.

Aboard were Major C. David Ruvola, pilot; Captain Graham Buschor, co-pilot; Staff Sergeant James R. Mioli, flight engineer; and pararescue jumpers Technical Sergeant John Spillane and Technical Sergeant Arden Rick Smith.

Due to the severity of the storm (a weather buoy located 264 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, reported a wave height of 100.7 feet the highest ever recorded in that part of the Atlantic Ocean) the Pave Hawk crew was unable to make the rescue and had to return to their base.

Having already refueled from the Lockheed HC-130 Hercules tanker three times during the mission, and with low fuel, a fourth refueling was needed for the helicopter to make it back to the mainland.

Because of the extreme turbulence and lack of visibility, Jolly 110 could not contact the refueling drogue trailing behind the airplane. Major Ruvola made more than 30 attempts, but finally both drogues were damaged by the severe conditions. With just twenty minutes of fuel remaining, and unable to refuel, Major Ruvola made the decision to ditch the helicopter into the sea while the engines were still running.

Finally, at 9:30 p.m. the number one engine flamed out from fuel starvation. Ruvola held the Pave Hawk in a hover over the raging ocean while Buschor, Mioli, Spillane and Smith jumped. When the number two engine flamed out, Ruvola put the Pave Hawk into a hovering autorotation, its blades coming to a sudden stop when they hit the face of an oncoming wave. Ruvola was about 15 feet underwater by the time he was able to escape from the sinking helicopter.

The Pave Hawk had gone down 90 miles south of Montauk Point in 100-knot winds and 80-foot waves. After five hours in the water, four of the five airmen were rescued by USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC-166), a 48-year-old former U.S. Navy fleet tug, operated by the Coast Guard since the end of World War II as a medium endurance cutter. The search for Rick Smith continued for a week. He was never found.

Unit Involved: 102nd Air Rescue Squadron
Mishap Location: Atlantic Ocean, 90 miles south of Montauk Point, New York
Fatalities: 1