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36th Rescue Flight makes 634th save

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Emerald Ralston
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  What started out as a day of hiking in the cathedral-esque mountains just west of Wenatchee, Wash., turned into a nightmare for a local 58-year-old man and his son at around 3 p.m. June 14. One misplaced step sent the 58-year old man tumbling more than 1,000 feet down a mountain in an avalanche caused by rain, warming temperatures and unstable hiking conditions. Two hikers from Fort Lewis, Wash., observed the whole event from an opposite mountain and rushed to the man's aid, as his son also scrambled down the mountain.

The 36th Rescue Flight got the call at about 10 p.m. The crew, which consisted of Capt. Brent Golembiewski, pilot; 1st Lt. Stephen Jones, copilot; Master Sgt. Patrick Hunt, medic; and Staff Sgt. Jacob Bragg, flight engineer, rushed to base, got briefed, grabbed their gear and departed at approximately 10:55 p.m.

"The mission was conducted during night vision goggle operations and the flight to the location was in good illumination," Captain Golembiewski said. "The spot where the survivor was located was in a bowl which blocked the moonlight making it rather dark. The terrain made it very challenging to hover, due to the 60 degree slopes and close proximity to the 100 foot cliffs which surrounded three sides of the helicopter."

The flight from Fairchild lasted an hour and 15 minutes. The crew was briefed more en route, and discussed plans of action, possible scenarios and speculated about what condition the survivor was in.

"During the flight, we talked a lot about possibilities," Sergeant Hunt said. "Sometimes when we get these calls, they sound like a train wreck, but we get to the scene and they're out there waving at us. But sometimes they make it sound like no big deal and we get there and it is a train wreck. So during the flight I was preparing myself and talking with the local sheriff."

The crew found the location of the hikers, thanks to the two individuals from Fort Lewis. They shined their flashlights when they saw the aircraft, making it easier to find the exact location. The crew then lowered Sergeant Hunt out of the helicopter to the ground, where the hikers had also cut a level spot out of a five by six foot area in the snow.

"We had the medic on the ground four hours after we got the initial call, which is phenomenal for a location that took an hour and 15 minutes to get to," Sergeant Bragg said.

Sergeant Hunt had his work cut out for him when he reached the ground. He landed about 20 feet from the patient and gingerly made his way toward him, not wanting to lose his footing and end up in the same situation. 

"When I got to him, I did my immediate assessment and determined he was pretty badly battered," Sergeant Hunt said. "He was almost in the 'oh [expletive deleted]' category, but when I realized he was speaking it alleviated some of my concern. He was cradling his arm and his face was bloody - he was lucky the other two hikers were there." 

The hikers from Fort Lewis may have quite possibly saved this man's life. 

"If it weren't for them, the man's son wouldn't have been able to go to the foot of the mountain to contact the sheriff to call for help," Sergeant Hunt said. "The men both had some combat life saving skills and if they hadn't been there it would have been too cold, too slick and too dangerous. He wouldn't have made it through the night without them." 

Then the helo circled the mountains while waiting for word from the medic. 

"It is kind of eerie, circling the dark mountains without being able to communicate with our medic," Sergeant Bragg said. "We waited while he stabilized and packaged up the patient. We circled until we were close to reaching Bingo fuel, which is a term for the amount of fuel we would need to get out of where we were, drop off the patient at the hospital and reach the airport to refuel. So we went in, hoping he would be ready, and he was." 

The crew then raised the patient and the medic into the aircraft and headed to a hospital in Wenatchee. 

"When we raised the patient into the aircraft, you couldn't see any white on his face - it was just covered in blood," Sergeant Bragg said. 

The helo rushed to the hospital, where Sergeant Hunt stayed to brief the emergency doctors while the rest of the crew went to refuel. 

"He had three jaw fractures, his right forearm was fractured to a point where I couldn't event find a discernable bone," Sergeant Hunt said. "He also had at least three ribs separated from his spine and his right ankle was dislocated and fractured. Not only that, but he had been injured since 3 p.m. and it was after 1 a.m. when we got him to the hospital, so he had mild hypothermia and dehydration. I briefed the staff so they didn't go poking around to find the things I already knew, to keep him out of as much pain as possible. Within 20 minutes they had x-rays done and were taking him into surgery as I left." 

Sergeant Hunt recalled his past experiences, and on a scale of one to 10, he put this man's condition at around eight or nine. 

"In emergency medicine, death is always looming, he would not have made it through the evening if we hadn't gotten to him, and definitely would not have made it alone," Sergeant Hunt said. "One of the things you have to do in this field is objectify, rather than personalize. It is a victim, not a person. You do that to separate the horrendous situations and stay emotionally unattached." 

The man made it through his surgeries and is on his way to a long recovery, thanks to the two hikers, his son, and the 36th Rescue Flight.