UPDATE: About that loud helicopter early this morning…

| Helicopter | West Seattle news

2:20 AM: We haven’t confirmed it yet but are checking into whether it was Guardian Two, the King County Sheriff’s Office‘s military-surplus second helicopter. That’s what the similarly loud, military-style helicopter passing by two weeks ago turned out to be, returning from a rescue in the South Sound, and a few hours ago, the KCSO Air Support Unit tweeted that G-2 was headed out to hoist an injured climber in Jefferson County. When on approach to Boeing Field, they fly low to stay out of Sea-Tac’s path, we were told. If we get confirmation, we’ll update.

11:04 AM: As noted in comments below, a followup tweet has added a little more information.

9:29 PM: And here’s what the rescue was all about.

Cait April 5, 2015 (3:42 am)

Aha! Was coming here to check that!

WSobserver April 5, 2015 (4:46 am)

Copter passed over several times more in the hours since this post. Just now again. At least the fifth time overhead.

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And yes it sounds like a large eggbeater, not the little buzzbee run by the usual news crews.

Alan April 5, 2015 (5:15 am)

Seems like they have been around for hours now.

Kap April 5, 2015 (6:00 am)

Hope climber is ok…

That sound experience was butt kickin.

Rockhills April 5, 2015 (6:08 am)

Granted I was half asleep, but it seemed to me that it was not headed straight into Boeing Field. It made a couple of passes and I could swear it was using a searchlight.

franci April 5, 2015 (6:36 am)

For a short time I thought it was trying to land near Solstice Park, it was that loud.

Kate April 5, 2015 (6:49 am)

Thank you! I thought it was going to land on our street, it was so low. Checked WSB first thing, and of course you’ve covered it. Thanks again!

Hp neighbor April 5, 2015 (6:53 am)

we are right in the small aircraft approach pattern the helicopter rattled the windows and shook the house. It was definitely flying very low. had to be g2. Woke everyone up!
Hope the injured climber is safe!

Debbie April 5, 2015 (6:55 am)

First night in new home at Sylvan Ridge and awaken at 1:00 & 2:00 by that noise. I was afraid it was a normal, scheduled route. I checked the WSB and Patrick Kelly’s Twitter and was immediately informed. Thank you!

Chelsea April 5, 2015 (7:36 am)

It was SO LOUD! Flew RIGHT over our house 3-4 times last night. No good night’s sleep for this pastor on the night before Easter!

Kris April 5, 2015 (7:46 am)

Thanks for the update on the very noisy helicopter.
Hope all are safe that were being rescued.

coleman April 5, 2015 (7:51 am)

That explains my house shaking at 2am in the morning. I thought it was an earthquake. I could tell it was military by the sound. I also heard news helicopters. Strange. Maybe the Easter bunny was delivering eggs via channok helicopter this year.

petert April 5, 2015 (8:10 am)

Just about blew us out of bed at 0230….that’s the loudest helo I’ve ever heard.

Laura Drake April 5, 2015 (10:11 am)

My question is: if the copters are flying low to avoid Sea-Tac’s path, but there is little to no flying out of Sea-Tac at that time of the night, why do they have to fly so low over neighborhoods shaking people out of their beds?

WSB April 5, 2015 (10:42 am)

There’s a bit more information this morning that I think explains both the extra pass and the height. According to a followup tweet, G2 rescued an injured hiker in the Olympics and transported the person to Harborview. That would have meant a landing on the south end of downtown and then the final trip to Boeing Field.

Bradley April 5, 2015 (11:15 am)

Our whole house near Roxhill got badly thumped last night by that bird.

Darryll April 5, 2015 (1:18 pm)

I heard copters flying back and fourth from about 2 am until after 5 am. Seems like we don’t have the full story.

Gene April 5, 2015 (2:02 pm)

I’m just grateful they were able to rescue the injured hiker & if it means shaking me awake-then shake away. Prayers that the hiker will be fine. Thanks G2/KCSO.

Gabby April 5, 2015 (8:12 pm)

It’s important that KCSO airport read our comments to know just how bad that was last night. Perhaps they can keep this in mind next time and get clearance to go a little higher with the huey? Never heard a helicopter that loud before. It woke up our whole house with kids multiple times, 3 or 4 times. The kids were frightened. I got about 2 hours of sleep because of it. I hate complaining, I really do. And of course it is wonderful that the climber was rescued. But I hope that doesn’t happen often!

Curtis April 5, 2015 (8:41 pm)

This story doesn’t wash. 3 hours for a hiker in the middle of the night?

WSB April 5, 2015 (9:23 pm)

Drafted a long comment and then found this on the Peninsula Daily News website, which I had checked earlier and at that time found nothing:
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http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150405/news/304059966/two-helicopters-all-night-effort-needed-to-rescue-hiker-in-east
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Doesn’t mention where the SECOND helicopter came from. But one of them was certainly Guardian Two. From what I was drafting earlier:
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King County Air Support often communicates via Twitter what they are or were doing. Here are the two tweets that are my sources – you don’t have to be a Twitter user to follow the link and see for yourself:
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https://twitter.com/KCSOAirsupport/status/584617905167273988
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“Guardian 2 is gearing for night hoist of injured climber in Jefferson county.” – time-stamped 12:25 am today
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https://twitter.com/KCSOAirsupport/status/584685535651700736
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“G2 Rescued a injured hiker off Brothers Mtn and transported to HMC.” – time-stamped 4:54 am today
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The Brothers is the iconic central Olympics peak visible across Puget Sound from West Seattle. Local photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen has some great views of them (and other Olympics peaks) – http://www.pbase.com/longbachnguyen/olympic&page=all
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Explanation of why KCSO’s air unit gets involved is here (which was also linked above):
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http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Enforcement/Specialized/Helicopter.aspx
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Last paragraph:
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“The helicopter’s excellent visibility and the ability to hover make it a very effective Search & Rescue (SAR) vehicle. We have assisted the SAR community throughout Washington and Oregon. Unhampered by terrain, a helicopter can quickly bypass ground obstacles, saving valuable time. It can search large areas quickly, allowing ground searchers to concentrate their efforts in other search areas. Using the hoist we can insert rescuers and evacuate victims. The time saved can easily mean the difference between life and death.”
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TR

nachobeaver April 5, 2015 (9:01 pm)

that was really uncalled for last night!! this new helo was right on top of my roof at 2am hovering for awhile in highland park I don’t care how bad of a criminal or injury it was kc needs to do something about the noise level on that thing!! I lived in LA for years and they have numerous police helos that don’t even wake a mouse!! and they fly all night long!! plus having guardian1 flying over last week at the same time for like 20 min I hope this isn’t gonna be the norm every weekend now:(

Ann April 6, 2015 (8:37 am)

Mystery solved. Thanks, WSB. Now, with all these comments and concerns, think about the poor civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries with active war zones and sympathize with the horror of these machines flying overhead constantly! My thoughts are with the hiker, but also the millions who know no peace of mind…

NeoYogi April 6, 2015 (8:58 am)

OH MY GOSH. It was a few hours…to save someone’s life. For everyone complaining about losing some sleep, noise, etc. Contacting the KCSO to complain? Really? Come on.

Cecile April 6, 2015 (10:45 am)

Wow- I bet if it was your relative or friend in danger, most here will feel differently about the noise. Sure it startled us awake, but to still complain to the KCSO about it? I’m sure the pilots don’t like being up at that hour either- but hey, a life was a stake. Thank goodness the hiker was rescued.

Wes C. Adle April 7, 2015 (8:56 am)

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crew-rescues-hiker-after-fall-in-olympic-national-forest/

WSB April 7, 2015 (9:01 am)

That is an Associated Press rewrite of the Peninsula Daily News story we have already linked to, above – but thanks.

pilsner April 11, 2015 (12:06 pm)

I agree, this story does not hold water. Some report multiple passes and seach lights and hovering? We are not on the penn. And if they are avoiding seatac lines, they can fly higher. Single engines outta KC Field fly higher over my house all the time. What gives?

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