13 September 2020 / 04:18 (UTC-07 Tango 06)/ 23 Shahrivar 1399/25 Muharram 1442/26 Yi-You 4718
National Guard photos by Second Lieutenant Anna Doo and Sergeant John Montoya. Videos by Second Lieutenant Anna Doo and Sergeant Zechariah Freeman. Dig photos via New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Image
In October 2015, the New Mexico Army National Guard was called-up for a mission unlike any other; sling-load a 65-million years old baby Pentaceratops out of the desert: “This ranks very high in the importance of Pentaceratops discoveries because it is the first baby skeleton, including the skull, ever recovered, and one of less than 10 adult Pentaceratops skulls unearthed.”-Spencer Lucas, Chief Curator of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
The baby three horned dinosaur was actually discovered back in 2011, in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area south of Farmington. In 2013, an adult was found in the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Study Area, 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. The paleontologists had a problem; no wheeled vehicles are allowed in those federally controlled areas, and once encased in protective plaster, the two dinosaur skeletons could weight as much as one U.S. ton.
In 2014, administrators with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, New Mexico National Guard, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, agreed to airlift the bones using UH-60 Blackhawks from New Mexico National Guard’s Company C, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation.
It took four hours to position just the encased baby skeleton for sling-load by the Blackhawk: “The process, since it was an unconventional load, took some different planning. We had the right personnel here and were able to brainstorm together. There was never really a set way that we had. We knew once we got in there we’d take a look at everything and figure out the best option. My favorite part was getting the jackets onto the sling loads. That was something we hadn’t had experience with and we knew it was going to be a difficult process. That was our biggest hurdle. Once we got past that we knew we had the capability to do everything else that we needed to.”-Staff Sergeant Jonathon Velarde, 1st Battalion-200th Infantry, National Guard site leader at the Bisti location
But when the day came for the airlift, it was discovered that the plaster surrounding the baby and adult Pentaceratops skeletons were water damaged from recent rain storms and could not be airlifted, only the skulls could be sling-loaded. However, it was soon discovered that the plaster jacketed skulls were much heavier than estimated. The Blackhawk crew trying to lift the adult skull reported it weighed 5-thousand-5-hundred pounds (2494.8 kilograms) and the UH-60 was not able to safely lift it. The jacketed baby skull weighed 4-thousand-5-hundred pounds (2041 kilograms), more than twice the estimate.
To make the lift the Blackhawk helicopters flew around burning off expensive fuel to lighten themselves. Keep in mind that the National Guard personnel on the ground, heaving the heavy skulls into positions, even pushing one uphill, were unaware that they were dealing with weights that were more than twice what they were expecting.
Video, baby skull flip:
Apparently it took two days (28-29OCT2015) of struggling to position the two skulls for sling-load.
Video, adult skull flip:
Video interview, Staff Sergeant Jonathon Velarde explains the proper positioning of the sling-load net:
Video, skull lift:
Video, incoming skull:
The skulls were flown out of the ground vehicle restricted areas to a location where a M984 HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) was waiting to take them to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science: “The mission went really well and it was good training for the traditional Soldiers. The mission was accomplished and everyone was safe. We were able to really show the capabilities of the National Guard as far as our air assets, the Infantry piece as far as them having to go out there and rig it, and our transportation assets as far as being able to move it, as well as working with the civilians and the general public.”-First Lieutenant Jerome Bustamante, 116th Transportation Company, New Mexico National Guard
HEMTT dino-load video:
The skulls are part of dinosaur displays at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, unfortunately the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs used the CoViD-19 fear-mongering to shutdown all taxpayer funded museums in New Mexico, until further notice.
Just before the CoViD-19 BS started: BLACK HELICOPTERS SWARM SUPER BOWL-54
IDAHO BLACKHAWKS HEAD SOUTH, DOWN CENTRAL AMERICA WAY, YOU PAID FOR IT!
U.S. government shenanigans, January 2019: MULTI-AGENCY SUPER SURGE