Coast Guard Rescue on Alaska's High Seas | A Pilot Remembers | 4

Coast Guard Rescue on Alaska's High Seas | A Pilot Remembers | 4

June 16, 2026 · 36 min · Season 74 · Episode 4

About this episode

Coast Guard pilot Steve Torpey recounts the challenging rescue mission of stranded fishermen in Alaska in 1998.

When Coast Guard pilot Steve Torpey got called into work on a Friday night back in January, 1998, he had no idea he was heading into the most challenging flight of his career. At that point, two Coast Guard helicopters had already failed to rescue the crew of the sunken fishing vessel La Conte. Torpey’s crew — manning the third helicopter — were the stranded fishermen’s last hope. Now retired, Steve Torpey joins host Mike Corey to share his memories of that fateful rescue mission.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Mike Corey

Guest: Steve Torpey

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Coast Guard

Books & works: La Conte

Places: Alaska

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