The pickup hovers were normally done at 40 feet of altitude in good weather. This particular aircraft (An SH-3H, Callsign "Bruce 433", BUNO 149906) was destroyed in a non-fatal incident off the Jacksonville Beach area, on the evening of 6-10-1976. That was the night before my SAR Class graduated. The aircraft was recovered from 50 feet of water, for investigative purposes. I never learned the cause. The Instructor/First Crewman onboard "433" that night was AW1 Larry Bryant. Larry later came to sea duty in my unit HS-15 and we became good friends. He made AWC in 1978.
