14 Proceedings Fall 2025 landfill for the cabin removal. The straight-line distance to this landfill site was 159 nautical miles, which would typically take 90 minutes to reach under the MH-60T’s standard cruise profile. However, with the need for area famil- iarization, the estimated travel time was closer to two hours. The cabin removal was expected to take three hours, with a planned refueling required midway through the operation and a second refueling for the return trip to Sitka. Despite the numerous logistics involved, the mission remained relatively straightforward. Further consideration was given to expected Marginal Visual Flight Rules (MVFR) conditions for the day. MVFR criteria refer to either a cloud layer between 1,000 and 3,000 feet and/or a horizontal visibility of three to five statute miles. Using weather cams imme- diately prior to departure, we were able to see that the intermittent cloud layer sat right at 1,000 feet, which happened to be the altitude of our cabin site. In addition to the cloud layer, there was an upsloping wind that could enhance visibil- ity, but might also force us into a challenging downwind hover. We knew weather would be a factor upon arrival since we would need to hover at approximately 200 feet above the site to sling load with our 200-foot pendant. Sling-loading involves attaching a high-capacity line, known as a pendant, to the underside of a helicopter, enabling it to carry loads weighing up to 6,000 pounds. The length of a pendant can vary based on mission requirements. Given the presence of trees exceeding 100 feet in height and steep, sloping terrain, a 200-foot pendant was deemed the most suitable choice for our mission. Due to the remoteness and steepness of the cabin’s location, there needed to be a Forest Service team on the ground at the cabin to load the cabin debris and at the landfill to unload it. Though the cabin site team was able to safely maneuver to the site, the density of the forest would not allow for sling-loading through the trees. To compensate for this, the ground team created a 50-by- 50-foot clearing near the site for us to load and unload our pendant. Even with the clearing, the team would need to brace itself along the 30-degree mountainside while the hurricane-force winds barreled down on them from the helicopter above. With all preparations in place, it was time to execute the mission. Making for the Most Efficient Use of Resources We departed Air Station Sitka en route to the landfill in Ketchikan. Instead of heading straight there, we knocked out a few items of area familiarization. The route followed a path past Medvejie Lake and Baranof Lake, down to Port Alexander, over the waters of Sumner Strait, over the towns of Whale Pass and Coffman Cove, and finally towards Ketchikan. The purpose of visiting these small towns is to prac- tice what we call a manual approach to a controlled hover (MATCH) into each town. Conducting a MATCH allows us to fly into villages in the event of restricted visibil- ity, which is a frequent occurrence in Southeast Alaska and justifies the need for this capability. Conducting a MATCH in these conditions is necessitated by high- gain missions like SAR or a nonmaritime medevac from an otherwise remote town without a dedicated SAR team or medical services. Conducting MATCHs into these towns—and many others—at least once a year is required for all Air Station Sitka pilots. We continued to the landfill and onboarded Inman and a Coast Guard member from Coast Guard Base Ketchikan for continued familiarization. This familiar- ization allowed us to explore areas of interest that would otherwise be inaccessible to both Forest Service agents and the Coast Guard through conventional methods. Some of these areas included the town of Metlakatla, Behm Canal, Rudyard Bay, and many points of particu- lar interest to the Forest Service on Revillagigedo Island. “This is the only forest, generally, in the National Forest System where you have this much overlap between National Forest System land and U.S. Coast Guard,” Inman said after he was asked what informa- tion the agency gleans from aerial familiarization. “This is only a small portion of a 17 million-acre forest, but ultimately it’s that perspective that enables us to do our The ground team at the cabin removal site captured an image of the MH-60T. Initially, the cloud layer presented challenges, preventing safe operations at the necessary altitude. U.S. Forest Service photo by Special Agent Joe Inman
