Echo 419 was a UNSC Pelican Dropship assigned to the 23rd Naval Air Squadron and attached to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn in 2552. When that ship arrived over Installation 04, the pilot of Echo 419, Captain Carol "Foehammer" Rawley, launched the Pelican as the Autumn descended into the atmosphere of the Halo, thereby saving Echo 419 from destruction. Other members of her wing, notably Echo 136, Echo 206, Bravo 022, and Victor 933 escaped the crashing of the Autumn in the same fashion. These five Pelicans were invaluable to the human survivors throughout the events that followed.
After departing from the Autumn, Echo 419 flew to the location of Major Antonio Silva and assisted in the capture of the butte that would later become Alpha Base. This pelican was then dispatched to evacuate other survivors of the crash who had landed on the ring on lifepods, including the Master Chief and Cortana. Echo 419 then stayed on station while the Spartan and AI decided to rescue survivors of several more lifepods in danger of being overrun by the Covenant. Echo 419 then took all survivors, the Master Chief and Cortana back to Alpha Base.
That night, Echo 419 took part in the assault on the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation, bringing Marines and ODSTs to the ship and taking back weapons and ordinance from the Covenant. Foehammer was bold enough to even bring the Pelican into a docking bay inside the vessel to unload reinforcements. However, midway through the attack, Echo 419 came under attack by Banshee fighters and was forced to return to Base. The Master Chief and Captain Keyes were forced to commandeer a Covenant Dropship in order to safely make it back to base.
Later, Echo 419, along with two other unnamed dropships, possibly being Bravo 022 and Echo 206 since Echo 419 had a warthog attached, took part in the assault on The Silent Cartographer, bringing forces and vehicles to the site and providing air cover once the Marines were on the ground. Although Bravo 022 was shot down and destroyed during the mission, Echo 419 was able to pick up the Master Chief after the mission was successful. The Pelican was then flown directly inside Halo's subterranean fortifications to drop the Master Chief off when he went to find the Control Room of the Halo. Echo 419 was also responsible for picking up the Chief after the mission.
Echo 419 then dropped the Chief off in the swamps around what later was revealed to be the Flood Containment Facilities so that he could locate Captain Keyes. When the Chief discovered the Flood, he and all surviving Marines attempted to evacuate via Echo 419, but Foehammer was unable to put the Pelican down due to the bad weather in the swamp. She then tried to guide them to a tower where she could pick them up, She then picked up all surviving Marines that were stationed in the swamp, but 343 Guilty Spark transported the Chief away.
Echo 419 was apparently in the air around the crash site of the Pillar of Autumn again after the Chief and Cortana detonated the fusion generators of the ship. As she neared the rendezvous point, Echo 419 was damaged by two banshees and lost control of her pelican, and while smoke trailed from the back, the pelican went down onto the surface of the Halo. It is a possibility that she and her crew survived the crash, seeing the pelican slowing down from the bridge, but was killed after the destruction of Halo.
Crew
- Captain Carol "Foehammer" Rawley -- Pilot - KIA
- Lieutenant Frye -- Copilot - KIA
- Crew Chief Cullen -- Communications - KIA
Trivia
- Echo 419 has either an appearance or dialog in almost every Halo:CE level, with the exceptions of Pillar of Autumn, The Library, Two Betrayals, and Keyes.
- When Echo 419 is shot down by banshees on The Maw, the banshees' cockpits are in the pilotless position, although you can clearly see the Elites piloting them.
- 419 is another 7 reference. 4+1+9=14, and 14/2=7
- The Triple 419: When you first start the level, Silent Cartgrapher, when your dropped off if you look at Bravo 022... It's not B022, it's another Echo 419. Adding more, If you wait by the E419's on Easy and maybe Normal difficulty, the Marines will wipe out the Covenant and another Echo 419 will come dropping off a Warthog.
- In 343 Guilty Spark (level) when you are getting dropped off you can throw a grenade to prevent yourself getting off Echo 419. It touches off soon after that and you must go with it. After a short while she crashes and doesn't move, you must get off and then you are at Installation 04's entrance.
The Echo 419 Model
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the model of Echo 419 (With "E419" written clearly on the sides of the ship) is used for nearly all of the Pelicans in the game, with the exception of the "Crashed Pelican" model for Victor 933, (With "V933" on the sides of the ship) seen in the level 343 Guilty Spark (and The Silent Cartographer, while doubling as the Crashed Bravo 022. The Echo 419 model doubles as at least 4-5 Pelicans in the opening sequence of the game, the airborne Bravo 022 in "The Silent Cartographer", and an anonymous Pelican in Assault on the Control Room.