Helicopter stuck after Bodega Head rescue now back at base

A Coast Guard helicopter left on Bodega Head after it landed and became stuck during the rescue of a 4-year-old boy earlier this week was back at its San Francisco base Friday.

The crew of the bright-orange MH-65D Dolphin had flown to Bodega Bay on Monday to aid in the rescue of Sebastion Johnson, who tumbled down a cliff during a visit with his family.

The helicopter crew used its landing light to illuminate the area for rescuers on the ground who were using ropes to rappel down to the child and bring him to higher ground, said Coast Guard Lt. Commander John Bettencourt, operations officer at Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco.

The helicopter pilot used night-vision technology to locate a level surface to land within Sonoma Coast State Park in case the boy required air transport. However, once on the ground the crew realized they were on a slope that might make a takeoff too dangerous, Bettencourt said.

Night-vision technology makes it “hard to assess a slope,” Bettencourt said.

Helicopters generate lift by changing the pitch of their rotors. The function works best on level ground and the MH-65D can take off on a slope of up to 10 degrees, Bettencourt said. On any slope greater, the craft could topple over during take off.

“There is a possibility of a rollover if you try,” Bettencourt said.

The slope where the Coast Guard copter landed Monday was possibly steep enough to put the crew at risk of rolling the helicopter, the lieutenant said. They notified the local emergency responders that they would not be able to fly the boy to a hospital and then shut down the craft to await daylight to make a better determination, Bettencourt said.

“It was a smart call to not try to take off,” Bettencourt said.

At daybreak, they decided the slope was too risky and that the craft had to be moved to more level ground.

A maintenance crew was called to the area and arrived Wednesday. With supervision from the parks department, the crew used hand tools to free the wheels from the soft earth and tow the aircraft about 30 yards to more level ground, the lieutenant said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bettencourt said. “They had tie lines and backed it down and pulled it into place.”

The crew took off at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday for the Coast Guard air station at San Francisco International Airport.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.