The U.S. Marines have air crew recovery teams in place near Libya.The Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel Teams,or TRAP,are based on amphibious ships such as the USS Kearsarge(LHD 3),which is now on station in the Gulf of Sidra,off the northern coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea.
TRAP teams employ both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft to pinpoint and rescue downed aviators.One of the teams rescued Captain Scott O'Grady when his F-16 was shot down by a missile over Bosnia in 1995.On Tuesday,a TRAP team from the Kearsarge immediately picked up one crewman of a U.S. Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle which accidentally crashed in eastern Libya.
The other crewman was welcomed as a hero by Libyan rebels before he too was picked up.Both men had minor injuries.
The Kearsarge is an amphibious assault ship manned by Navy personnel,but with the mission of transporting Marines and their equipment,including aircraft.Its motto is "Proud,Trustworthy,Bold."
Also on Tuesday,a U.S. Navy submarine that had fired cruise missiles at regime targets in Libya withdrew from the area,having completed its mission.
Update:The rescue aircraft dispatched from the Kearsarge was reportedly an MV-22 Osprey,which is a fixed wing aircraft that can tilt its propellers up and fly like a helicopter as well.As it approached the downed crewman,it laid down covering fire to discourage anyone from interfering.Six civilians were slightly wounded in the incident.
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