An injured 74-year-old woman in Phoenix has been sent into a literal and absolute spin after a rescue helicopter mission did not go as planned.
Firefighters ventured to Piestewa Peak on Tuesday morning to help the un-named woman after she was injured while hiking. Captain Rob McDade of the Phoenix Fire Department told FOX10 News that the decision was made to fly the woman off the mountain via helicopter.
Things all seemed to be going to plan until the actual airlift began, as air turbulence from the helicopter’s rotor caused the woman, strapped to stretcher, to spin endlessly at an accelerating pace.
WILD HELICOPTER RESCUE: Firefighters say a 74-year-old woman had to be flown off of Piestewa Peak this morning after she suffered an injury while hiking.
STORY: https://t.co/H4HavJnsgn pic.twitter.com/2FPQR0qiZ9
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) June 4, 2019
I am not a professional firefighter, helicopter pilot, or rescuer, but the end result of this attempted heroic rescue does not look like it was implemented as intended.
The woman can be seen spinning at a violent and accelerating pace, strapped into a stretcher and unable to move (which is probably a good thing). The rescuers even have to send her back closer to the ground because she is spinning too fast when she reaches the chopper. The video has (for obvious reasons) since gone viral on Twitter and on Facebook, with a lot of people worried about the woman’s health post-rescue.
The woman was eventually taken to an area trauma centre. Here’s hoping her body (and her heart) is OK.
