Drone Assists In Rescue Of Appalachian Trail Hiker In VA | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Tue, Nov 21, 2017

Drone Assists In Rescue Of Appalachian Trail Hiker In VA

Giles County EMS Used FLIR-Equipped Drone To Locate The Hiker

A hiker reported overdue on the Appalachian Trail in Giles County, VA was located by Giles County Emergency Medical Services using a FLIR-equipped drone last Monday.

Television station WSLS reports that the hiker's daughter contacted the rescue service, and once the aircraft was airborne, the hiker was located within five minutes, according to Giles County Rescue Captain Bill Davis.

The general location of the hiker was determined using GPS signals from his cell phone, but that was not accurate enough to pinpoint where he was. Darkness and heavy fog complicated the search.

The drone belongs to a local company which uses it for building inspections. But the company recently offered its use to EMS if needed. In this case, it was.

Davis said that to his knowledge, there is only one other drone in the state with the FLIR technology. "We mixed old school and new school, and we saved a man's life because of it," Davis said.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC