Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 29, 2009

Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter
(361) 939-6227

Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello
(713) 578-3080

Air Station Corpus Christi recognized in Coast Guard 2009 Top 11 Videos

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— The Coast Guard has selected the video of a rescue of two men from a burning boat near Corpus Christi as one of its 2009 Top 11 Videos.  These videos highlight the year's most compelling cases and are examples of missions performed every day by America's Guardians.

In this video taken Sept. 12, a Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew spots billowing smoke coming from a fishing vessel in the Intracoastal Waterway and diverts to find two people in a life raft next to the burning fishing vessel. The crew lowers the rescue swimmer into the water to assess the situation. One of the men has sustained burns to 20% of his body and is showing signs of shock.  Both men are transported to Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi. The complete 2009 Top 11 Videos compilation (presented in no particular order) is available for viewing and downloading from the Coast Guard Visual Information site at http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=731355.

In 2009, the Coast Guard:

• Screened more than 248,000 commercial vessels and their 62 million passengers and crewmembers before arrival in U.S. ports, identifying nearly 400 individuals in a person of interest watch list.
• Maintained a contingent of six patrol boats and 400 personnel to enforce United Nations sanctions in the Arabian Gulf, train Iraqi naval forces and protect Iraqi critical maritime oil infrastructure.
• Kept 352,862 pounds of cocaine and 71,234 pounds of marijuana from reaching the United States, while nabbing 322 suspected smugglers.
• Saved more than 4,747 lives and responded to 23,555 emergencies.
• Issued 73,168 merchant mariner credentials to qualified mariners
• Conducted more than 14,000 inspections of U.S. flagged vessels
• Investigated nearly 3,600 pollution incidents
• Conducted 49,276 armed patrols to protect critical infrastructure or key resources
• Maintained a 98 percent rate of availability for 50,000 short-range aids to navigation that helped mariners more safely navigate our nation’s 95,000 miles of coastline, 25,000 miles of waterways and 12,000 miles of inland waterways that comprise the U.S. Marine Transportation System.

“As the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard, it has been my pleasure to serve with such dedicated men and women who sacrifice so much to serve our great nation,” said Adm. Thad W. Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.  "I am truly grateful for their hard work and dedication. During 2009, they committed themselves to maintaining the nation's maritime safety, security, and environment. They are America's Maritime Guardians.  The best videos of 2009 clearly illustrate they are always here to protect and ready to serve."

The public is encouraged to vote online for their favorite video in the Coast Guard’s best video of 2009 contest.  The Coast Guard Compass, http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/, will be highlighting one video per day starting through Jan. 1, 2010.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 23, 2009

Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter
U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs
(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard searches for man who fell from Harbor Bridge

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Coast Guard is searching for a man who reportedly fell from the Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi Tuesday evening.

A watch stander from Sector Corpus Christi received a call at 10:21 p.m. from the Texas Department of Public Safety stating that they had received numerous calls from people reporting that they had witnessed a man fall from the Harbor Bridge at approximately 8:30 p.m. Texas DPS also stated that they would have a helicopter on scene along with a marine patrol boat and did not require any assistance from the Coast Guard at that time.

After speaking with local authorities early this morning, Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an MH-65C rescue helicopter crew at approximately 9:15 a.m. and Station Port Aransas launched a 25-foot Response Boat-Small at approximately 9:30 a.m. Both Coast Guard assets are currently searching near the bridge.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 12, 2009

Contact: Lt. Nick Leiter  
(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard assists fishing vessel taking on water near South Padre Island

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas —The Coast Guard assisted three men when their 80-foot fishing vessel began taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 33 nautical miles northeast of South Padre Island, Saturday. 

A watchstander from Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi received a call on channel 16 at 12:24 p.m. from a crewmember of the fishing vessel RGT II reporting that their vessel was taking on water at an uncontrollable rate.

Coast Guard Station South Padre Island launched a 33-foot Response Boat-Medium and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter to the boat's reported position. The Coast Guard Cutter Manatee, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Corpus Christi, was diverted from its patrol to assist with the rescue effort.

At 1:20 p.m., the rescue boat crew and the Manatee arrived on scene and began assisting the crew of the RGT II.  Crews were able to stabilize the flooding by using dewatering pumps, and the Coast Guard RB-M crew escorted the fishing vessel back to Coast Guard Station South Padre Island.

The fishing vessel RGT II is homeported in Brownsville.

No injuries were reported.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 12, 2009

Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter
(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard rescues 2 men following capsizing of boat; man survives 12 hours in cold water

PORT O'CONNOR, Texas  - The Coast Guard rescued two men following the capsizing of their 16-foot aluminum boat in the vicinity of Port O’Connor, Friday.

A watchstander from Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi received a call at 7:18 p.m. from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s department reporting that a man had called them via cell phone stating his boat was rapidly taking on water.  He reported his position between Matagorda Island and Port O’Connor.

Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor immediately launched a 41-foot Utility Boat and a 25-foot Response Boat-Small to search the area. 

At approximately 3 a.m. Saturday, a rescue boat crew located the first boater.  The 20-year-old man from Louisiana was found clinging to an oil platform in Espirito Santo Bay. The man suffered from exposure to the elements but was reported to be in stable condition. The man was transported by the rescue boat crew to Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor where he was examined by EMS crews, and determined to be in good condition.  He remained overnight at Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor to wait for transportation.  

The rescue boat crews continued to search throughout the early morning hours and at approximately 7:30 a.m. the second man was found holding on to a portion of the capsized boat. The 42-year-old Port O’Connor man was also taken to Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor to awaiting EMS.  EMS crews then transported the man to Port Lavaca Memorial Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia.

The two men were hunting on Matagorda Island, and they were attempting to return to Port O’Connor for supplies when their boat began taking on water.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 11, 2009

Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter

(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard searching for downed Piper PA-30 civilian aircraft

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 24, 2009

Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter
(361) 393-6227

Coast Guard rescues missing boater from Nueces Bay

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Coast Guard rescued a man after his 20-foot boat was beached near Nueces Bay, Tuesday.

 A watchstander at Coast Guard Station Sector Corpus Christi received a telephone call from the man’s son-in-law at 6:48 p.m., Monday, reporting that his father-in-law had not returned as planned from a fishing trip.

Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter to search Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Station Port Aransas dispatched a 25-foot Response Boat – Small to search Corpus Christi Bay. The searchers did not find any sign of the missing boater Monday night.

The search resumed at first light today, and the Dolphin rescue crew located the missing boater on the shore of Nueces Bay, 500 yards from the Nueces Bait Stand at 7:24 a.m.

"The man’s son-in-law actually reported a possible target from his view at the bait stand, and it turned out to be his father," said Lt. j.g. Derek Wilson. "From the initial report to his own search efforts from the shoreline, the son played a huge role in assisting with the search."

The man’s 20-foot boat became disabled Monday night and was adrift until early this morning when it reached the shore.

The Corpus Christi Police Department, Harbor Police and Marina Security also assisted with the search.

No injuries were reported.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 19, 2009
Contact: 
U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs
(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard rescues boaters aground on Port Aransas jetty

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Coast Guard rescued four people from a grounded 35-foot boat on the north Port Aransas jetty, Wednesday evening.

A watchstander at Coast Guard Station Port Aransas received a telephone call from the owner of the Ciao Bella at 6:33 p.m., reporting his boat was aground on the north jetty.

Station Port Aransas dispatched a 25-foot Response Boat-Medium to assist the boaters. The RB-M arrived at 6:43 p.m. to find all four people in the disabled boat wearing life jackets. The boat crew transferred the survivors to the RB-M and transported them to Station Port Aransas.

Tow Boat U.S. salvaged the boat at 9:12 p.m. and towed it to the Port Aransas City Marina.

No injuries were reported.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 18, 2009

Contact: 
Lt. Nick Leiter
361-438-0176

Disabled Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon jet removed from Colorado airport runway 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HU-25 Falcon jet was removed from the Eagle County Regional Airport runway in Gypsum, Colo., Tuesday, after suffering a collapsed nose landing gear while landing.

A Coast Guard maintenance and engineering team is enroute to Eagle County Airport to assess the Falcon’s damage. The aircraft is currently in an airport hangar.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon while the Falcon crew was conducting a training mission. Upon landing, the crew noticed an abnormal vibration before the nose landing gear collapsed causing the aircraft to skid down the runway. The crew deployed a dragchute, which helped the Falcon decelerate and come to a stop 500 feet from the end of the runway.

There were no injuries.

The five-person Falcon crew was conducting a training mission and was scheduled to return to Corpus Christi Tuesday afternoon.  The Eagle County Airport was chosen because it has a suitable runway length and width and is home to a National Guard facility that could be used to obtain fuel.  Conducting training at Eagle County Airport minimized congestion of heavily trafficked airports such as Denver International Airport.

“Jet airway and cold weather training is necessary to keep our pilots proficient in aircraft performance and power management,” said Capt. Bob Paulison, commander of Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi. “Flying a variety of instrument approach procedures, working with different air traffic control support, and conducting landings and adjusting to conditions at a range of airports and in a range of environments enables our crews to be ready to respond to various missions throughout the world.”

All Coast Guard assets are deployable worldwide and are tasked with a wide variety of Department of Homeland Security missions.

“One primary point to take from this incident is the importance of training.  Our flight crew remained calm, used their training, and prevented a more tragic outcome," said Paulison.

The cause on the incident is under investigation.

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 17, 2009
Contact:  Lt. Nick Leiter
(361) 939-6227

Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon jet landing gear collapses during landing at Colorado airport

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – An HU-25 Falcon jet from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi suffered a collapsed nose landing gear while landing at Eagle County Regional Airport in Gypsum, Colo., Tuesday.

The Falcon crew was conducting a routine training mission when the mishap occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m.

None of the five crewmembers aboard the Falcon were injured.

Upon landing, the crew noticed an abnormal vibration in the nose landing gear. Shortly after this discovery, the entire landing gear collapsed causing the aircraft to skid down the runway. The crew deployed a drogue chute, which helped the aircraft decelerate and come to a stop 500 feet from the end of runway.

Because of its location, Eagle County Regional Airport is used by the Falcon fleet for high-altitude take-off and landing training operations.

A Coast Guard has a maintenance and engineering team enroute to the scene.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident. 

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Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Nov. 1, 2009

Contact:  Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello
(832) 293-1293

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— The Coast Guard has suspended its search for the second pilot from a downed Navy T-34 training aircraft, Sunday, at approximately 7 p.m.

The Coast Guard searched an estimated 131 hours and approximately 20,900 square miles during this search and rescue case. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne will continue its mission of using side scanning sonar in an attempt to locate the downed T-34 aircraft.  The U.S. Navy Salvage Dive Team will assist the crew of the Harry Claiborne.   

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi initially received a call on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, from the Navy Corpus Christi base tower at 4 p.m. reporting that an air traffic controller had lost communication with a T-34 training aircraft at approximately 3:20 p.m.

The following assets were utilized during this search and rescue effort:

• Customs and Border Protection P3 aircraft
• Texas Department of Public Safety aircraft
• Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin helicopter
• Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon jet
• Coast Guard Station Port Aransas Response Boat-Medium
• Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor Response Boat-Small
• Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne, 175-foot buoy tender
• Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead, 87-foot patrol boat
• Coast Guard Cutter Brant, 87-foot patrol boat
• Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft

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