Christmas in January - Crew Resource Management

Approach, Dec, 2003 by Brad Sultzer

Assertiveness

Decision Making

Communication

Leadership

Adaptability/Flexibility

Mission Analysis

Situational Awareness

Just another duty day at Coast Guard Air Station, Barbers Point, Hawaii, and I was the duty C-130 search-and-rescue aircraft commander.

I was scheduled to fly a first-pilot check flight at 1230. At 1115, I got a call to prepare to search for a missing 30-year-old man in a 12-foot kayak, northwest of Fanning Island. This sparsely inhabited island lies 150 miles from Christmas Island, Kiribati. It is about 1,100 miles south of Hawaii, or four hours flying time in our Hercules.

We loaded CG1703 with the maximum 62,000-pound fuel load, which gave us about 12 hours of flight time. On takeoff, I never would have imagined the mission would be one of the most demanding search-and-rescue missions of my 25-year Coast Guard career, including more than 20 years as a pilot and crewman ill the C-130.

During the preflight planning, we contacted the rescue coordination center (RCC) Honolulu and voiced our concerns. We had to confirm permission to recover and to refuel at Christmas Island's primitive airport, following the search for the kayaker. We also needed to confirm the airport would be open, and the airport lights and non-directional beacon were working. We still awaited a response from RCC Honolulu when we departed.

Our plan was to get on-scene as soon as possible and search until dark, then recover at Christmas Island. We knew once we flew beyond the point where we could return directly to Barbers Point, we were committed to landing at Christmas Island; no other divert options were available.

After takeoff, we reviewed the search-action plan CGD14 RCC had given us, and we still had questions about the best way to prosecute the mission. If we flew as planned, we wouldn't have enough fuel to recover anywhere but Christmas Island. I had heard previous flights had had problems with Christmas Island's airport lighting. I wanted to be certain the airport was open before I allowed my fuel to go below the minimum to reach another location.

We felt the search area was too small and concentrated, and it didn't give us the best chance to rescue the kayaker. He had been lost at sea through the night and already was 24 hours overdue. We needed to get on-scene, look at a large area before sunset, recover at Christmas Island, refuel, and be ready to search at first light the next day.

Within 20 minutes after takeoff, we called RCC. We had hoped to confirm the fuel and lighting issues and to get permission to double the size of our search area. RCC responded--opening the track spacing, or the distance between legs, but not to the extent we had requested. They directed us to complete the area search and then to search at the aircraft-commander's discretion. Later, we were told that the airport lights were working and that fuel had been arranged. We were good to go.

For the next four hours, we readied the aircraft for the search. We got a raft and marine-location markers ready to drop. We discussed completing the area search, then doing a shore-line search of Fanning Island, followed by a trackline search 50 to 60 miles out from the island. If daylight allowed, we would conduct another search west of the originally assigned area.

As we arrived on-scene, the weather and sea conditions were good. We dropped a datum-marker buoy (DMB) to get drift information, which would help us if we needed follow-on searches. Also, our search radar was intermittent, operating only five to 10 percent of the time. The loss of radar would hurt our chances for success. The navigator and avionicsman worked hard to get the radar up; they kept resetting the equipment and occasionally would get a few minutes of active radar searching.

We completed the original search area, then we checked the perimeter of Fanning Island as planned. We completed the trackline search out to 60 miles, guessing the direction a drifting kayak would travel. As it got dark, we rushed to begin our second search area; we were running out of time to find the kayaker. Another night adrift would result in a larger search area the next day. More importantly, it meant the kayaker would spend another day exposed to the elements, perhaps without food or water.

During the second search, we discussed that we had only five minutes remaining (one more 10-mile leg) before we would have to depart because of darkness. On the last leg, the radar came up for a few minutes, and the navigator saw a small blip. He gave us a steer of 330 degrees at seven miles. As we made a 90-degree turn toward the contact, the radar again failed. We continued to the target, and as we approached, my copilot, Lt. Chris Shivery, yelled out, "There he is; he's flashing a light."

As I flew over, I could see the faint outline of the kayak and the man on board. He had drifted 70 miles from Fanning Island. Unfortunately, we couldn't see him or the kayak when we again passed over him a few minutes later because darkness had set in.