TESTIMONIAL
Received from Sigurdur Asgeirsson, Iceland Coast Guard
Our night vision goggles are one of the most fantastic additions we have made to our equipment for many years. After having conducted initial research into various types of night vision, we are very happy that we bought, what we believe to be, the best: ITT's AN/AVS-9 night vision goggles for aviators.
The Icelandic Coast Guard received the goggles in late August 2001, just days before September 11. Our helicopters needed to be reconfigured and modified for NVG ops, and the crews needed training- all of which was finished at the end of October 2002. Summer in Iceland brings 24 hours of daylight, so we do not use our goggles again until early September.
The goggles have broadened our capabilities, and most importantly, made our jobs safer than ever before. Prior to the purchase of night vision goggles, a rescue situation had to be a matter of life and death for us to attempt a night rescue. If the victim could survive the night, the mission was delayed until dawn. Now we have the ability to operate anytime, day or night. Without night vision goggles, inland rescues were impossible. Iceland is very sparsely populated and has very few lights outside of the towns. The interior is very rugged and mountainous with terrain covered with black volcanic lava and ash, and sand. The remaining landscape consists of glaciers and snow.
On the evening of December 31, 2002 we received a distress signal from a Norwegian freighter, shipping herring in the form of barrels. The accident most likely occurred due to a shift in the ship's cargo which was caused by collapsed barrels, and subsequent capsizing of the vessel. Conditions were partly cloudy with easterly winds blowing at 40 knots.
All six crew members had abandoned ship and sought refuge in a single life raft. Radar did not detect the capsizing vessel, which made it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of those in distress. Due to a small light on board the life raft, we were able to spot the crew at approximately 17 nautical miles. Usually these lights are only visible around 1-2 nautical miles with no night vision capability. Fortunately, because of the night vision systems, we were able to save valuable time that would have normally been spent searching for the victims.
Upon arrival at the scene, we saw the vessel tilting at more than 50º; it was dangerously close to the life raft. All six crew members were rescued in one attempt. The rescue with use of the goggles was very, very easy. Before, a rescue like this one would have been difficult and extremely hazardous. At no time during the rescue did we consider ourselves in danger. All six crew members were rescued without injury and were very grateful for our efforts.
So far, we have successfully completed 10 rescue missions using our night vision goggles. Four of these would not have been possible without night vision. Fourteen people have been saved as a result of these missions, and nine probably would have perished without our night vision capability.
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