Rescue a Testament to Air/Ground Collaboration in a Pinch

Maryland State Police Aviation Command completed a rescue over the long weekend, hoisting up the victim of a UTV accident in the backwoods with their AW139.

Maryland State Police Aviation Command publicized their success with modest and humble fanfare, simply noting their involvement with a succinct description of the incident. It’s interesting to note the method, in a sense, given the assumption that backcountry rescues are a “specialist” mission in some people’s minds. The State Police operate a fleet of 10 AW139s from 7 bases throughout the state of Maryland, acting as catch-all rescue and support aircraft for pretty much any mission under the sun. This time around, the MSPAC relied on ground EMS to maintain the patient before the hoist. The patient had rolled a small side-by-side utility vehicle in a remote mountain area, and was assessed by EMTS on-scene to be too critical for a ground rescue. As such, Trooper 5 of Cumberland, Maryland responded to the call.

While the rescue was en route, ground EMS maintained the patient and prepped their package for the hoist. Once on scene, Trooper 5 hoisted a rescuer down to a sandbar on Cheat River, hanging at a steady 100-foot hover. Once their patient was loaded, the medevac headed straight to West Virginia University Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, for further assessment and treatment.

Stories like this happen all across the country, in unremarkable towns and out-of-the-way hollers of America. But it’s a nice reminder that even on July 4th weekend, responders are on duty and ready to go to bat for a stranger. For cash-strapped municipalities, it’s a small case study in just how effective a multi-mission State-level aviation department can be.

FMI: www.mdsp.maryland.gov