43 Summer 2025 Proceedings high hover, slightly downwind of the Atlantic Destiny, where you could see in nauseating detail the stern of the vessel rise up on waves that would have dwarfed a three- story building. Looking closer, you might squint against the staccato flashing of strobe lights outlining a four- by-six-foot hoisting area on the starboard quarter that moved erratically with the ship as it pitched, rolled, and heaved. You might be forgiven for struggling to believe that the four-by-six space—surrounded by a tall exterior railing, crowded with obstacles, and with twin cranes looming above it—was your target. You might wonder whether this rescue attempt was madness. But ultimately, you would rely on every ounce of your training, effort, and ability to try. I wish you could hear the concern in your flight mechanic’s voice as the 60-knot winds threatened to push the trail line into the tail rotor. Or know what it felt like to begin the rescue effort with five trail lines, and then have that number quickly whittled down to one. You might decide, as we did, to lower your hoisting alti- tude from 90 feet to 60 feet because you couldn’t afford to lose the last one. From that height, you could see the whole ship in alarming detail. From that height, you could look up at the vessel’s mast as it thrashed wildly against the sea. More than anything, I wish you could hear the words, “The survivor is inside the cabin—hoist complete.” Or sit in the pilot’s seat and have something catch your eye near the aircraft’s lower console, where a man in an immersion suit is huddled, because that’s the only space in the cabin not already claimed by survivors. By the next morning, international news outlets would report that a robust SAR coalition including the Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and Canadian Coast Guard had recovered all 31 crewmembers from the doomed vessel. Within hours of abandoning ship, the Atlantic Destiny pointed its bow skywards, as if in a final salute to its captain and the skeleton crew who had tried to save it from the sea, and then slip beneath the waves. The Canadian CGS Cape Roger would return to shore with the SAR techs and final four survivors. The other 27 crewmembers, hoisted from their vessel in unfathomable conditions by a series of U.S. Coast Guard and RCAF helicopters over the preceding hours, awaited their safe return. I wish you could’ve been there. It was a night I will never forget. It is a night I cannot forget. But before March 2, 2021, transformed into The Night of the Atlantic Destiny Rescue, it was a Tuesday. Just an ordinary Tuesday. And while, with luck, we are several years out from the next case that has a similar confluence of challenges, the next time the SAR alarm goes off, it could be for the next Atlantic Destiny. If you are a maintainer on the hangar deck, the next time you turn a wrench on your aircraft, know that your efforts could enable it to face up to the buffeting strength of a winter gale. If you are an aircrew member, the next time you have an opportunity to train, act as if it’s the last time before your skills will be tested as someone’s life hangs in the balance. That is the reality. We don’t get to know when the very best versions of ourselves will be called upon, so we have to be ready. In this line of work, even ordinary Tuesdays have a habit of becoming extraordinary. About the author: LCDR J. Travis Christy served as an MH-60T instructor pilot and flight examiner with three operational tours at Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod in Massachusetts and the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala- bama. His professional awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Helicopter Association International’s Pilot of the Year Award, Naval Helicopter Association’s Non-Deployed Aircrew of the Year Award, and five Coast Guard Commendation Medals. He was honored to respond alongside an incredible group of SAR professionals on the night of the Atlantic Destiny rescue. He is currently attending Northeastern Uni- versity in Boston, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in English.
