USS MOUNT WHITNEY, Mediterranean Sea — USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) conducted night search and rescue operations April 28 to help locate a small civilian aircraft reported missing off the coast of the Greek island Kefalonia.

The ship had been operating about 100 miles from the suspected crash site and offered assistance around 8:00 p.m. local time in response to communications announced over marine channel 16. Local agencies including Olympia Radio, a vessel traffic service, and the Greek Maritime Regional Coordination Center (GMRCC) directed the search effort.

The aircraft was last reported about seven miles off the coast of the Greek island Argostoli with two passengers onboard.

"When somebody is distressed at sea we have an inherent obligation to do everything in our power to help those individuals," said Navy Capt. Karl Thomas, commanding officer of Mount Whitney. "The entire crew sprang into action, and the Ghostrider crew had the helicopter in the air within the hour." Ghostrider is the call sign for the onboard SH-60 helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 (HSC-28). "When we arrived at the search site we had good visibility," said Navy Lt. j.g. Tom McCurdy, a pilot for HSC-28. "We worked our search at two different altitudes and coordinated our efforts with the other aircraft in the area." Ghostrider searched for about two hours in an area spanning approximately 120 square miles but did not locate any signs of the missing aircraft. The crew returned to Mount Whitney after the GMRCC confirmed they had enough capable search assets in the area.

Mount Whitney is the flagship for Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and is currently in the Mediterranean on a regularly scheduled deployment.