The intervention of a HH-139A helicopter from the 85th Combat Search & Rescue Center of the 15th Wing in collaboration with the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps
An HH-139A helicopter of the 85th Combat Search & Rescue Center of the 15th Wing of the Air Force intervened in the middle of the night to rescue a boy in difficulty and in a state of hypothermia who was on Mount Polveracchio, in the province of Salerno.
The military helicopter, one of the assets of the Armed Force always ready for take-off on the national territory also for this kind of interventions, immediately took off from the military airport of Pratica di Mare (RM), where the 85th is based Combat SAR Center (Search and Rescue) of the 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force.
Once reached the intervention area, the crew - in collaboration with the technicians of the National Alpine Rescue and Speleological Corps - recovered the boy using the winch. Thanks to the use of night vision goggles NVG (Night Vision Goggles), which allow you to operate in marginal light conditions or at night, the recovery of the man took place in complete safety. Once the intervention was completed, the military helicopter returned to Pratica di Mare airport at the first light of dawn.
The emergency crew of the 85th C / SAR Center had been activated in the late afternoon by the Rescue Coordination Center of the Poggio Renatico Aerospace Operations Command (FE), the command and control center of the Italian Air Force from which managed all operational activities of this kind.
The 85th CSAR Center is one of the Departments of the 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force which guarantees, 24 hours a day, 24 days a year, without interruption, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty, competing moreover, to activities of public utility such as the search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, the emergency medical transport of patients in danger of life and the rescue of seriously traumatized patients, also operating at night and in marginal weather conditions.