Helicopter crew recounts flood rescues

Two crew members from the NAS Fallon Search and Rescue team spoke to the Fallon Rotary Club Tuesday about their harrowing adventures Jan. 5 during the Fernley flood.

Petty Officers Michael Pilarski and Ricky Pierron, both dressed in bright orange flight suits, told the crowd how their training was put to the test that cold morning before the sunrise.

The SAR crew received its first page at 5:30 a.m., a little more than an hour after the first report of the flood came in to the Lyon County Sheriff's Department. When the four-man crew met at the hangar, NAS Fallon Executive Officer and mission co-pilot Doug Russell told his crew about the disaster in Fernley.

"We checked with the (Lyon County) sheriff's department and went right into it," Pilarski said.

Maneuvering the helicopter proved to be difficult in the dark morning hours because the aircraft was forced to fly near trees and powerlines, a tight squeeze for rotor blades that span 48 feet.