Video: USCG Conducts Long-Range Medevac for Injured Captain

On Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews medevaced the captain of the commercial fishing vessel Vicious Cycle at a position about 130 miles southwest of Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

At 1115 hours, Sector Honolulu received a report from a friend of the crew who said that they had received a message from the Vicious Cycle reporting that the master had been injured on his forearm. 

The Coast Guard attempted to contact the vessel via radio but could not reach her because she was out of radio range. An Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules aircrew was launched to establish contact and determine the situation on board.

Given the circumstances, a Coast Guard duty flight surgeon recommended a medevac for the vessel's master. However, the Vicious Cycle was located outside of the flight range for the available Dolphin rescue helicopters. To make the long flight possible, Sector Honolulu diverted the cutter Midgett from nearby to act as a "lily pad" refueling point.

The Dolphin aircrew launched, and after refueling on the Midgett, they made a rendezvous with the Vicious Cycle and hoisted the injured captain. They flew back to the Midgett to refuel again, then delivered the victim to medical services at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. His condition is unknown at this time.

A fishing vessel of the same name flooded and sank southwest of Kona, Hawaii in 2016.