Air Guard crew rescues two pilots in separate crashes near Palmer and Skwentna

Two pilots who crashed in separate parts of Southcentral Alaska on Thursday were flown to an Anchorage hospital by the same Alaska Air National Guard helicopter crew, the Guard said.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson opened the first mission after a Good Samaritan reported a Piper PA-18 down at Friday Creek, about 20 miles east of Palmer, the Guard said in a release. The center asked the 176th Wing for help, and a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60W Jolly Green II lifted off with 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel rescue Airmen, the wing's rescue specialists, aboard. The crew landed near the wreck, reached the pilot and flew them to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

The second mission started with a 911 call reporting a Cessna 170 down near Skwentna, about 80 miles northwest of Anchorage. The same helicopter crew found that crash site, landed and brought the pilot aboard for the flight to Providence. The Guard described the second mission as "a near repeat of the previous mission."

The release did not say how badly either pilot was hurt or what caused either crash.

Rescue center officials are urging aircraft owners to install 406 MHz emergency locator transmitters, the distress beacons carried on aircraft, and keep the registration information current, saying it speeds up the search.