You Tube Rescue Footage
Pretty old school to be skid riding without full protective clothing but that is the way we used to do it. That is me on the starboard skid of the Sheriff's helicopter, Fox 1 or as we refer to it now, Fox Brown, an MD500. My partner Brad Parker is in the aft seat and Rick Crabbs is at the controls during a training session at the Arizona National Guard facility near Papago Buttes in Phoenix. Funny story. Apparently we didn't have the proper authorization to do this on post so a few minutes after this pic was taken the MPs showed up, made us shut down and actually seized the bird for a while until things got sorted out. The 500 was one of my favorite rides. Loud and cramped in the back but the five bladed rotor system was ultra stable and shorter (about 10 ft shorter than a Bell 206L3) which allowed us to get into tighter spots, a big deal for mountain rescue work. The skid was the cool place to ride especially at night because you could see the FLIR display up front but the spot light mounted at crotch level could melt your nylon gear if you didn't pay attention.
Water rescue training in the Central Arizona Canal with Fox Brown. Don't remember the pilot but I am pretty sure that is Dennis Dowell out on the skid running things. That's me and Tom Pendley in the water. Tom came up with the idea of using the canal for the fire department training and we quickly took advantage of it. Just enough current to make things interesting but still reasonably safe. We were experimenting here but the idea was not to securely hook up to the helicopter but hang on while it drags you toward the shallow water or shore. We also did a live bait version of this.
The landing zone at the Sheriff's Blue Point Substation was the site of this particular training which went from really good to almost catastrophic in the blink of an eye. Bob Mitchell took his turn in the back of the aircraft, shoved a Cordura rope bag under the bench instead of clipping it in and securing it. The Safety Officer didn't catch it, Bob gave a thumbs up, the pilot spooled up the power, lifted, and headed off to do the hop. Half way to the destination they made a hard left turn, the cross wind dislodged the bag and it blew out of the passenger compartment then struck the tail rotor. I was running the LZ a half mile away but heard the thud and knew immediately that something bad had happen. Sounded like somebody hit a hard plastic suitcase with a baseball bat. They came back in hot and made a very intense full power landing. Close call. Big mistake. In that business all it takes is one instant of carelessness, a quick loss of focus to turn a smooth op into a major event that could ball up a helicopter and kill everybody. I never liked Mitchell, in fact, he was the principle reason I left Mountain Rescue and went to the Aviation Division.
So I am dinking around on the internet trying to figure out how I want to do my You Tube videos and I came across a couple posts featuring the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Helicopter performing rescues in the mid 90s. They were all of Fox Brown, the MD500 pictured above that we had before some creative financing got us two brand spanking new, fully outfitted Bell 407s. I was on the Sheriff's Office Mountain Rescue Team at that time but have never seen these videos until now.
The first one is a swiftwater rescue where the crew was checking out the flooded Salt River while somebody I didn't recognize was in the back filming. They happened upon a woman out in the middle of the water and with a pretty impressive piece of flying were able to catch her with the skid and drag her to the shallows. Best part is that the chic is wearing a bikini and actually has the body for it. Mike Borszich is the Pilot and Mike Arend is the Flight Tech that gets to go out, make contact with the cold scared half naked 101, bring her back to the ship and get her properly buckled in the aft seat. Nice job Mikey, very attentive customer service.
By the time I had transferred to Aviation Mike had become a full fledged pilot and a very good one. Truth is, I loved flying with everybody (except for Glenne and Foster). Sheriff's Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Phoenix PD, Arizona National Guard, US Customs, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Air Force even the news guys were all great and very talented but with all due respect and admiration to the others, Mike Arend was my favorite. There might have been better technical or higher hour pilots but Mike was smooth as silk and always cool. He just sort of wore the bird and it fit him like a glove. I hope where ever you are Mike that you are doing well and still flying.
I am in the second video several times but I can't for the life of me remember the incident. Funny now how all those missions run together in my head. This one was in the Superstitions and it is pretty clear right off how rugged the terrain is and how sketchy the point of egress is for us. There is just enough room for Borszich to get part of the skid on a rock ledge while we get off as gracefully and quickly as possible. That was a pretty normal gig for our first due area, we practiced it a lot and we were good at it. At least we had some daylight on this one. I am the first one off the port side skid of the 500 at the very beginning of the video. Gary Weesner passes me a rope bag, comes off the bird smoothly then we both get real low and small until the 500 moves off and clears us.
Note the location from which the video is being shot. Channel 12's news helicopter flown by Jerry foster is right on our ass which is one of the reason I didn't like flying with him. In fact if you listen carefully to the ship to ship radio traffic Borszich asks Jerry if he is right behind him which tells me that he didn't know Sky 12 was there. It's not like Mike, Gary and I needed the additional complication of his rotor wash to make this get off more exciting. This was just a typical chopper jockey/reporter stunt for the sake of good TV or the publics right to know. Sad because every once in a while it gets somebody killed. Like when two news birds collide over a populated area while covering a pursuit. Completely unnecessary and avoidable if the corporate egos could be held in check long enough to think it through.
As you watch this video, keep in mind that the "victims" are not locals. They are from Minnesota and they have come to the legendary Superstition Mountains to hunt Rattlesnakes. Genius. Look where they ended up getting stuck. Amazing. We brought 'em back though. Vertical or horizontal, we always brought 'em back.
Wade Nelson
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