Fairfield’s Penfield Reef To Be Designated Vertical Flight Society Heritage Site

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield announced that Penfield Reef will be designated a Vertical Flight Society Heritage Site in recognition of what is considered the world’s first successful helicopter hoist water rescue, an event that helped shape modern search-and-rescue operations.

The rescue took place in 1945 during a storm off Penfield Reef, when two men stranded on a barge signaled for help with emergency flares that were seen from shore. Rescue boats were unable to reach the vessel, prompting Fairfield police to seek assistance from Sikorsky Aircraft.

Engineers and flight crews prepared a Sikorsky R-5 helicopter equipped with an experimental hoist system that had recently been demonstrated to the U.S. Coast Guard. According to town officials, the helicopter hovered above the barge, dropped a note informing the stranded men it would return with rescue harnesses, and then lifted the men to safety in two separate operations. One man was partially carried inside the aircraft, while the other was suspended beneath it.

The designation ceremony will be led by the Vertical Flight Society and Sikorsky, now a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. It is open to the public, and scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, May 15, at Fairfield's Penfield Pavilion. During the ceremony, the society plans to present Fairfield with a commemorative plaque marking the historic rescue.

As part of the event, Sikorsky plans to fly a company-owned Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from its Bridgeport facility to Penfield Reef, where it will hover over the rescue site before returning.

"This remarkable story of bravery, teamwork and innovation is a testament to community action in the face of adversity," said First Selectperson Christine Vitale. "We are honored to have Penfield Reef recognized as the site where rescue aviation was forever changed. Countless lives have been saved due to the quick response and ingenuity of Sikorsky and the Fairfielders of 1945."

Added Sikorsky Vice President and General Manager Rich Benton, "The first-ever helicopter rescue using a hoist showed the world the tremendous potential of a machine that could hover and bring people out of danger. Deservedly, the two crew members and two rescuees received the first Sikorsky helicopter rescue awards, a practice we continue 80 years later. Lessons learned from the Penfield Reef incident by Sikorsky engineers changed the trajectory of vertical lift aviation; the design of larger, more powerful helicopters with reliable hoists to bring multiple people on board — capabilities that save thousands of lives every year around the world."

Angelo Collins, director of the Vertical Flight Society, said the rescue "is woven into the very fabric of
vertical flight history."

"Just miles from where Sikorsky and the Vertical Flight Society were founded in Stratford, Connecticut, this rescue demonstrated, for the first time, what helicopters could truly do," Collins said. "Eighty years later, Sikorsky continues to add new threads of innovation, helping define the broader
vertical flight community."

Information about the rescue is available through the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives.

Event Details

Time: Friday, May 15 at 1:00 p.m.

Location: Penfield Pavilion back deck

• Speakers:
  Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Engineering and Technology, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company
• Rich Benton, Vice President and General Manager, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company
• Angelo Collins, Executive Director, Vertical Flight Society
• Christine Vitale, First Selectperson, Town of Fairfield
• Anthony Calabrese, Chief of Community Services, Town of Fairfield
• Nick Viner, son of 1945 Sikorsky rescue pilot Jimmy Viner

Parking is available in the parking lot at Penfield Pavilion, 323 Fairfield Beach Road, Fairfield.

— Flyer from the Town of Fairfield