The MacKay Trophy


Photo by Cheryl McKay
 © 2001-2004, Clan Mackay Society, USA; All Rights Reserved

 The MacKay Trophy was established in 1911 by Clarence H. MacKay, who was head of the Postal Telegraph-Commercial Cable Companies. It is administered by the National Aeronautic Association of the U.S.A. and is awarded yearly by the U.S. Air Force for the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force person(s) or organization.

The MacKay Trophy was awarded this year for a combat rescue operation launched near Kharbut, Iraq April 16, 2004. In near-zero visibility, the crews of two AF HH-60G helicopters were directed to the location of a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter that had crashed in a sandstorm. The brown-out conditions left the rescue crews’ infrared and night vision goggles ineffective, making navigation extremely difficult and the rescue attempt much more dangerous. In executing the rescue mission, the Air Force crews also had to navigate through multiple surface-to-air missile attacks. In the end all five Army crash survivors were located, rescued and evacuated out of the combat zone unharmed.

To Mackay Home Page

 

The Official Website of Clan Mackay Society, USA