It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Crested Butte, and a group of speed fliers were preparing to launch from Baldy Mountain. Speed flying is a sport similar to paragliding using a smaller wing designed for descent rather than ascent.
The first pilot launched and was flying close to the ground when disaster struck. His speed wing dipped and struck a tree, sending him crashing to the ground and breaking his femur in two places. Fortunately, the group was well equipped with radios and were using two spotters, one at the top and one at the bottom. The spotter at the top had cell reception and was able to call 911.
Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CBSAR) and Crested Butte Fire & EMS responded, sending rescuers on the ground to the patient. Care Flight landed a helicopter at the top of Paradise Divide. The team discussed lowering their patient 1200 feet to the road, then driving him up a bumpy 4×4 road to the waiting helicopter. His injuries were severe, however, and the team realized this would take a lot of time and likely worsen his injuries. They called CSAR’s state coordinators for help in getting a faster evacuation option.
The state coordinators were already working on another incident, coordinating a helicopter hoist in Summit County, but they sprang into action and requested a second hoist from the Colorado National Guard. While a Black Hawk from the High Altitude Aviation Training Site performed the hoist in Summit County, a Black Hawk from Buckley Air Force Base flew to Crested Butte. The patient was hoisted and on his way to a hospital within a few hours.
“It was great to see the interagency collaboration on this incident,” said Randy Felix, president of CBSAR and one of CSAR’s state coordinators. “The technology improvements we’ve made over the past year allow the state coordinators to ‘swarm’ an incident and speed up our response time dramatically.”
