Rescue of injured 74-year-old hiker spins out of control

[Woxof38]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/rescue-of- ... -1.4452345

at 1:30 you can see how fast the spin is.....

Authorities say a 74-year-old hiker whose head and face were injured in a fall on a Phoenix mountain endured a wild ride in a stretcher as she was being hoisted into a helicopter.

Phoenix Fire Department officials say the woman was treated for dizziness and nausea but suffered no other ill effects when the stretcher spun ever-faster in the backwash of the helicopter's rotor blades.

ABC15 Arizona's television chopper recorded the mishap as the rescue crew lifted the injured hiker from Piestewa Peak on Tuesday morning. The crew said a second line meant to prevent the spinning broke. Eventually the rescue copter's forward motion slowed the spinning enough to bring the woman into the cabin.

Officials said she was treated at a trauma centre and listed in stable condition.

[youhavecontrol]

Knowing the woman was ok, and being aware it must have been a frightening and frustrating event for those involved... as a bystander just watching the video, it's been a while since I've laughed that hard. I watched it start to spin, then skipped to the 1 min mark and saw how comically fast it was spinning and couldn't stop laughing. Oh gosh.. that poor lady!

[PilotDAR]

The pilot finally did what I was thinking, fly forward to put the rotor wash more behind the helicopter. He probably could have done that a minute earlier. A friend of mine was similarly winched out, and he said it was the most scary ride he'd ever had, and he was a retired jet fighter pilot! But, it's nice to know that someone will come to get you, even if it's not perfect!

[Capt. Underpants]

Poor lady, that would have done me in. I thought it was SOP to use a second line from the stretcher basket that would be held by a person on the ground.

[Woxof38]

"The crew said a second line meant to prevent the spinning broke."

[FlyGy]

Poor lady, that would have done me in. I thought it was SOP to use a second line from the stretcher basket that would be held by a person on the ground.

JESUS CHRIST!!

READ THE ORIGINAL FUKKIN POST!!!

[Capt. Underpants]

"The crew said a second line meant to prevent the spinning broke."

Well don't I feel silly. I watched the video and saw no sign of the second line.

[Capt. Underpants]

JESUS CHRIST!!

READ THE ORIGINAL FUKKIN POST!!!

Take a chill pill, Mr. Perfect. Maybe the whole bottle. Clearly there's too much stress in your life.

[FlyGy]

JESUS CHRIST!!

READ THE ORIGINAL FUKKIN POST!!!

Take a chill pill, Mr. Perfect. Maybe the whole bottle. Clearly there's too much stress in your life.

You're probably right. A drug overdose would solve everything.

Sorry 'bout that.

[corethatthermal]

Looks like gross incompetence to me! For the helo guys, what is the procedure with a broken stabilizing line?

[Beefitarian]

I feel bad for her.

I didn't laugh until I read the comment, something like, "Now have her stand up and tell her to try to run in a straight line."

[Heliian]

Looks like gross incompetence to me! For the helo guys, what is the procedure with a broken stabilizing line?

There is no line and there are 2 ways to stop it. 1-put the load back down. 2-get forward airspeed. (Only enough is needed to move the load out of the down wash.)

The spinning only happens when the load is light enough or bulky enough to be buffeted by the down wash.

[corethatthermal]

WHY isnt there a stabilizing line?

[Dry Guy]

A lot of rescue pilots, medevac pilots, etc are low experience people. They just don't put in the hours that a sched pilot or someone long lining lumber or something would. Try not to think about it when you're laying on a stretcher in a remote area.

[bcflyer]

WHY isnt there a stabilizing line?

Please read the article. The answer is there.

[corethatthermal]

Why would Helian say this ?

There is no line and there are 2 ways to stop it. 1-put the load back down. 2-get forward airspeed. (Only enough is needed to move the load out of the down wash.)