AZ's Meteorite crater rescue event concluded Angel Thunder 2015

Arizona's Meteorite Crater served as the final training site for this year's Angel Thunder exercise, where four simulated-patients were hoisted 570 feet out of the crater into an Army Air National Guard UH-60 Medevac Helicopter.


Angel Thunder is the world's largest Personnel Recovery exercise, hosted by Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Ariz. 30 May-13 June, which involved over 3,000 participants from all joint U.S. forces, 11 partner nations and 9 inter-agencies training together to improve communication and rescue techniques.



This year's Angel Thunder trained personnel from around the world in mass casualty, hostage recovery, high angle mountain rescues, contested environment rescues, and swift water rescues, just to name a few. 



Davis-Monthan provides an ideal training location due to its close proximity to military training ranges, a variety of environments and elevations, and access to the California coastline.



Arizona's Meteorite Crater was formed 50,000 years ago, when a Meteorite landed in Winslow. The crater is 570 feet deep and 3,900 feet across.