Coast Guard aircrews in Humboldt Bay to increase flights during annual training

Image above is a stock photo of one of Sector Humboldt Bay's MH-65 Dolphin helicopters that will be involved in the upcoming training. The stock photo was captured during a training evolution March 7, 2018 by Chief Petty Officer Brandyn Hill.

MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. —​ Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay aircrews are scheduled to go through annual standardization training and evaluations from March 18 through March 29.

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Flight Standardization Instructors from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., will be arriving to evaluate aircrew flight proficiency and procedures.

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This evaluation will result in a significant increase in daily flights and an increase in helicopter traffic at Eureka’s Murray Airfield, Samoa Airfield and Arcata Airport over the next two weeks.

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These evaluations are required annually by the Coast Guard to test the ability of pilots and aircrew to perform during search and rescue cases and react to in-flight emergencies. The evaluators will be ensuring that procedures are being performed to the Coast Guard’s standard. These annual evaluations help maintain the unit’s readiness to respond to missions and emergencies safely and effectively.

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Normal Coast Guard emergency response capability will not be affected.