As the United States' inland search and rescue (SAR) coordinator, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating on-land federal SAR activities in the United States, including Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Some of the AFRCC's more notable missions include the search for John F. Kennedy Jr., the Payne Stewart mishap, the 11 September terrorist attacks, the Space Shuttle Columbia crash and, more recently, the search for world-record setting adventurer Steve Fossett.
