STRICKEN DANE AIR EVACUATED

SONDRESTROM AB, Greenland Thanks to Sondrestrom's 17th Troop Carrier Squadron, Mr. Borgs Petersen, a Danish civilian stricken with acute appendicitis at Greenland's northernmost weather station, Nord, was quickly airlifted to Thule AB last week. Mr. Pedersen was stricken on the night of January 20th. A call from Nord to Thule at 10:00 p.m. revealed that the base had no aircraft available that could land at the ice-bound station. Thule phoned Sondrestrom and shortly after midnight on the 21st a ski-equipped C-130 sped off Sondrestrom's runway with Capt. Bill Bless at the controls. After landing at Thule to pick up Dr. D. K. Graff of the 4683rd USAF Hospital, the aircraft flew 750 miles to the remote weather station, evacuated Mr. Petersen, and returned to Thule by 9:15 a.m. A successful emergency operation, performed at Thule shortly after landing, put Mr. Petersen in an "excellent condition" status. He was released from the hospital January 28th.

The C-130 which made the flight--some 2900 miles--is one of the troop carrier squadron's turbo-prop aircraft used to support the DYE radar sites on Greenland's ice cap. This mercy mission was almost identical to the one which took place on December 9th of last year. On that date, A Sondrestrom C-130 transported a Greenlander, also stricken with appendicitis, from Nord to Thule.