A Coast Guard Air Station Miami crew member salutes a memorial after laying a wreath during a remembrance ceremony in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 17, 2018. (Coast Guard photo by Eric D. Woodall)
MIAMI — Coast Guard Air Station Miami hosted a memorial remembrance ceremony Wednesday at Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
The annual ceremony honored those air crew members who lost their lives in the line of duty in the Miami area.
On Jan. 17, 1979, a Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard helicopter was involved in a midair collision during their landing descent with a civilian helicopter in a takeoff climb. Both aircraft were cleared by the tower along parallel flight paths, but were not advised of each other. Coast Guard Lt. R.G. Ausness, Lt. R.C. Shearer Jr., Petty Officer 1st Class R.E. McClain and Petty Officer 3rd Class J.B. Case died in the collision.
On Feb. 1, 2001, Coast Guard Auxiliarists Casey Purvis and Robert Fuller were aboard a Piper PA-32 performing night intercept training with an Air Station Miami HU-25 Falcon jet crew. During the flight, the auxiliarists entered the clouds and subsequently crashed.
For photos from the ceremony, visit our Flickr page.
