The USNS Henson (T-AGS-63) pathfinder class oceanographic survey ship is in this city to help look for the fuselage and the missing pilots of the OV-10 Broncho 630 that crashed in June this year off the airport runway.
Brig. Gen. Conrado Parra, commander of the 570th Composite Tactical Wing and head of Task Force Broncho, confirmed to the Philippines News Agency (PNA) Monday that the oceanographic survey ship arrived Friday and will stay until September 12 to assist in the rescue mission.
Parra said the arrival of the vessel was in response to their request to the U.S. Government to help locate the fuselage that can help in the investigation of the crash, and missing pilots Capt. Jonathan Ybanez and 1st Lt. Abner Trust Nacion.
As of this writing, the USNS Henson is now searching 12 nautical miles east of the site, and will comb the waters with the same length of distance north and south.
“We are really hopeful that the USNS Henson will find them and the fuselage with their high-tech equipment,” Parra said.
Parra said it has a capability to conduct search missions 400 meters below the sea. “It will be looking for them in the areas, where we have searched before but in the deeper parts,” he added.
If the USNS Henson fails in the search, Parra said they will continue to look until such time they have exhausted everything and is ready to call off the mission under the Task Force Bronco.
Owned by the US Navy, the USNS Henson is said to be “used to collect data for the purpose of geophysical, biological, physical and acoustical surveys.” Due to its expansive reach, it is needed by the American military to obtain information on all ocean regarding ocean environments.
The ships construction is designed to support the bevy of instruments connected below the water line. The hull has a multi-beam shape to support the equipment and offers good sea keeping.
The military's knowledge of the ocean environment has been dramatically increased due to oceanographic survey ships like the Henson.
On board, its equipment among others is consisted of a Multi-beam Echo Sounding System with 121 bathymetric sonar system used to chart waters from 10 to 11,000 meters in real time; a Seismic System used as a deep penetration instrument, Shallow Water Echo Sounder System that provides a single beam for depths to 12,000 meters, and a Sub Bottom Profiler (ODEC BATHY-2000) is capable of determining seabed structure down to 10,000 meters.
The USNS Henson was the navy vessel that accompanied Robert Peary for an expedition intended to reach the Geographic North Pole in 1909.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=563777
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