2 August 2024
A video has emerged of the rescue of two pilots who had to ditch their Piper PA46 aircraft in freezing Arctic seas off the coast of Greenland.
The video, below, was taken by the Air Transport Wing of Denmark’s Armed Forces, which sent out a Challenger special mission aircraft in response to a Mayday radio call.
The call was received by the Flight Information Centre at Nuuk and Arctic Command from a German registered aircraft enroute from Canada to Narsarsuaq in South Greenland.
The crew of the Air Transport Wing on the Challenger aircraft quickly found the position of the aircraft and were able to follow it in the air as it crashed into the sea south-west of Qaqortoq.
The two pilots appear in the video to have made a textbook ditching and were quickly into a liferaft wearing immersion suits. They were able to wave to the crew of the Challenger plane, who flew over the position and stayed in the area.
One of Denmark’s ATW Challenger aircraft. Photo: John Robert Murdoch/OneSpotter
An inspection ship named Triton had previously set its course towards the rescue fleet and within just 30 minutes rescued the two pilots.
“The rescue operation is a school example of excellent cooperation between the Arctic Command headquarters in Nuuk and the units deployed by the Air Force and the Navy under the leadership of the Arctic Command.” said the Air Transport Wing.
“The crews of the Challenger plane and Triton acted resolutely, and the cooperation ensured the survival of the two people – we are deeply impressed, and thank everyone involved for the outcome of the case!”
