Helicopter Rescue Video - Helicopter Short Haul Rescue - Helicopter Long Line Rescue - Bauman bag
I have not done much rescue related material on this site yet but I thought you all might enjoy this video. It is one of the last missions I did before retiring altogether from rescue work. 14 years was plenty.
I was actually off duty when I was special called to meet Fox 1, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Bell 407, at the Scottsdale Municipal Airport. I got the page about 4:30pm. This was not all that uncommon. Not only was I the Division's Rescue Training Coordinator, I was also it's only SAR Tech-EMT. Normally I would grab my gear, get dressed and drive to wherever I was meeting the bird. This time was a little different because my wife and kids wanted to drive me to the airport to save me some time and see me off. Big mistake.
There are three stop lights between my house and the airport and my wife, the finest person I know, and just about the most law abiding, blew through two bright red ones like we were going to a fire. The kids were yelling, my radio was blaring, and I was trying to get my gear on all while my soccer mom wife was doing her best Danica Patrick impression in a Chevy Suburban. Fortunately we got there in one piece. A little frazzled, I was happy to climb inside the helicopter...where it was safe.
The crew had already been to the call which was in the Canyon Lake area but went back to the hangar for the short haul gear and to pick me up. The engine company on scene was not helo qualified and we had not trained with them so a decision was made to do the short haul aka long line aka sling load operation with just our people. Two firefighters had already been inserted via one skid landing to reach, treat and stabilize the patient, an elderly woman who had gotten lost while rock hunting. As you will see in the video, she was in a very bad place. I have no idea how that woman ended up where she did. It was late summer, hot, and there was a monsoon rolling in from the North. She was not doing well at all. In fact, the firefighters were unable to start an IV because she was so dehydrated and that's not good.
My job was to rig the ship, ride the line into the scene, package the patient in a Bauman Bag and then ride the line back out to the landing zone where we would transfer the patient to a waiting ambulance. The ambulance would deliver the patient to an air ambulance that was waiting at another landing zone down the road.
This is the Bauman Bag with me hanging in the attendant position. It was our policy to attend all live loads. From this position, while hanging 50 to 125 feet below the helicopter, I could talk to the patient, monitor and manage their airway and "fly the load" with my arms to keep the whole package from spinning. The system works very well but it is high risk.
The duty crew on this mission was Pilot and CFI Josh Johnson and Flight Technician Observer Kevin Kraayenbrink. Two of the nicest guys on the planet. If you look closely on the video, you can see Kevin's bare legs sticking out the side of the passenger compartment. He is laying sideways and face down on the aft bench seat so he can see what I am doing and make rude hand gestures. For some reason both he and Josh were wearing shoorts instead of their Superman suits. Tasks assignments are as follows: Josh flys. Kevin watches, talks to me on the radio, Josh on the intercom and directs the whole thing. I make sure that one end of the load line is securely attached to the helicopter and the other to my harness and the patient then try to make it through the ride without wetting my pants.
The picture on the left is me looking for somebody else to do this. On the right, I am trying to decide between mexican and chinese food afterwords. Airborne SAR Techs travel pretty light especially when you are as heavy as I am and temperatures are high. The Tactical Tailor Utility Vest allowed me to carry two radios, 100oz of water and basic survival and treatment gear. Note the attachment point for the Petzl 8003 harness under my suit. Such a kind face.
As the "load" or "dope on the rope" for a whole bunch of these operations I can tell you that there are crews that are good at long line work and crews that are not. These guys are very, very good. Watch how smoothly they move me around, how gently they set me down and how quickly they address and correct a pendulum swing. That is finesse. That is talent.
Long story short. We got the patient. She went to the hospital and lived. We all went back to whatever it was that we were doing.
Another successful mission. Cheated death again. That is ace Pilot Josh Johnson and me. Kevin Kraayenbrink is behind the camera. I miss working with those guys. I don't miss smelling like jet exhaust all the time.
The guys at TV 3 were nice enough to give me the raw video and then we had it converted. It's a good video but the web process degrades the quality quite a bit and speeds it up. Trust me, we weren't flying that fast and Josh is a much smoother pilot than it seems on the web version of the video. The first minute or two is the rough news clip then it gets a little better. If you minimize your screen and reduce the size it looks better. Thanks to Tom Pendley for hosting it for me. Hope you all enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.
Click the little green link below to see it. About five minutes total.
nelsontf.swf
Thanks.
Wade Nelson
Editor
I was actually off duty when I was special called to meet Fox 1, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Bell 407, at the Scottsdale Municipal Airport. I got the page about 4:30pm. This was not all that uncommon. Not only was I the Division's Rescue Training Coordinator, I was also it's only SAR Tech-EMT. Normally I would grab my gear, get dressed and drive to wherever I was meeting the bird. This time was a little different because my wife and kids wanted to drive me to the airport to save me some time and see me off. Big mistake.
There are three stop lights between my house and the airport and my wife, the finest person I know, and just about the most law abiding, blew through two bright red ones like we were going to a fire. The kids were yelling, my radio was blaring, and I was trying to get my gear on all while my soccer mom wife was doing her best Danica Patrick impression in a Chevy Suburban. Fortunately we got there in one piece. A little frazzled, I was happy to climb inside the helicopter...where it was safe.
The crew had already been to the call which was in the Canyon Lake area but went back to the hangar for the short haul gear and to pick me up. The engine company on scene was not helo qualified and we had not trained with them so a decision was made to do the short haul aka long line aka sling load operation with just our people. Two firefighters had already been inserted via one skid landing to reach, treat and stabilize the patient, an elderly woman who had gotten lost while rock hunting. As you will see in the video, she was in a very bad place. I have no idea how that woman ended up where she did. It was late summer, hot, and there was a monsoon rolling in from the North. She was not doing well at all. In fact, the firefighters were unable to start an IV because she was so dehydrated and that's not good.
My job was to rig the ship, ride the line into the scene, package the patient in a Bauman Bag and then ride the line back out to the landing zone where we would transfer the patient to a waiting ambulance. The ambulance would deliver the patient to an air ambulance that was waiting at another landing zone down the road.
This is the Bauman Bag with me hanging in the attendant position. It was our policy to attend all live loads. From this position, while hanging 50 to 125 feet below the helicopter, I could talk to the patient, monitor and manage their airway and "fly the load" with my arms to keep the whole package from spinning. The system works very well but it is high risk.
The duty crew on this mission was Pilot and CFI Josh Johnson and Flight Technician Observer Kevin Kraayenbrink. Two of the nicest guys on the planet. If you look closely on the video, you can see Kevin's bare legs sticking out the side of the passenger compartment. He is laying sideways and face down on the aft bench seat so he can see what I am doing and make rude hand gestures. For some reason both he and Josh were wearing shoorts instead of their Superman suits. Tasks assignments are as follows: Josh flys. Kevin watches, talks to me on the radio, Josh on the intercom and directs the whole thing. I make sure that one end of the load line is securely attached to the helicopter and the other to my harness and the patient then try to make it through the ride without wetting my pants.
The picture on the left is me looking for somebody else to do this. On the right, I am trying to decide between mexican and chinese food afterwords. Airborne SAR Techs travel pretty light especially when you are as heavy as I am and temperatures are high. The Tactical Tailor Utility Vest allowed me to carry two radios, 100oz of water and basic survival and treatment gear. Note the attachment point for the Petzl 8003 harness under my suit. Such a kind face.
As the "load" or "dope on the rope" for a whole bunch of these operations I can tell you that there are crews that are good at long line work and crews that are not. These guys are very, very good. Watch how smoothly they move me around, how gently they set me down and how quickly they address and correct a pendulum swing. That is finesse. That is talent.
Long story short. We got the patient. She went to the hospital and lived. We all went back to whatever it was that we were doing.
Another successful mission. Cheated death again. That is ace Pilot Josh Johnson and me. Kevin Kraayenbrink is behind the camera. I miss working with those guys. I don't miss smelling like jet exhaust all the time.
The guys at TV 3 were nice enough to give me the raw video and then we had it converted. It's a good video but the web process degrades the quality quite a bit and speeds it up. Trust me, we weren't flying that fast and Josh is a much smoother pilot than it seems on the web version of the video. The first minute or two is the rough news clip then it gets a little better. If you minimize your screen and reduce the size it looks better. Thanks to Tom Pendley for hosting it for me. Hope you all enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.
Click the little green link below to see it. About five minutes total.
nelsontf.swf
Thanks.
Wade Nelson
Editor
Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.
Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who won't or can't turn back.
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