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NOAA SHIP WHITING JOINS THE RUDE IN SEARCH FOR KENNEDY PLANE

NOAA Ship RudeJuly 18, 1999 — The NOAA Ship Whiting has joined the NOAA Ship Rude (pronounced roo-dee) in the search for the plane believed to be that of John F. Kennedy, Jr. The two NOAA ships are aiding the U.S. Coast Guard in the recovery efforts.

The NOAA ships are hydrographic vessels that use sophisticated scanning technology to chart and map the ocean floor. Their home port is NOAA's Atlantic Marine Center in Norfolk, Va. Rear Admiral Nicholas Prahl is the director of both the Atlantic and Pacific Marine Centers.

NOAA Ship WhitingThe Rude helped to locate the wreckage of TWA flight 800 in July 1996.

NOAA Corps Commander Sam De Bow is the hydrographer on scene where search activities are being conducted.

Background Information

NOAA LOCATES WRECKAGE ON OCEAN FLOOR AFTER TWA FLIGHT 800 DISASTER

SIDE SCAN SONAR

NOAA'S OFFICE OF COAST SURVEY — The nation's official chartmaker.

U.S. COAST GUARD

Office of NOAA Corps
Rear Admiral Evelyn FieldsSince NOAA’s beginning, a large percentage of its oceanographic, atmospheric, hydrographic, fisheries and coastal data has been collected on NOAA ships and aircraft. This fleet of platforms is managed and operated by the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, an office made up of civilians and officers of the NOAA Commissioned Corps (a uniformed service of the United States). In addition to research and monitoring activities critical to NOAA’s mission, NOAANOAA Corp Seal ships and aircraft provide immediate response capabilities for unpredictable events, such as recovery and search efforts after the TWA Flight 800 crash, damage assessment after major oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez, Persian Gulf War and New Carissa, and several major hurricanes during the 1998 season.

Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields is the director of the NOAA Corps.

Contact Information

Media should contact the U.S. Coast Guard public affairs command center in Boston, Mass., at (617) 223-8515. The NOAA spokesmen are Chris Smith, Robert Chartuk and Greg Hernandez. They can be reached at that number or through NOAA public affairs in Washington, DC, at (202) 482-6090.