Six rescuers from the police Mountain Rescue Team reached the girl at dusk. They strapped her
in a Thomson litter and tried, unsuccessfully, to carry her down the steep slope on foot. Due to the
late hour, and falling temperatures, the El Paso EMS Division contacted the 2/507
th
Medical
Company for a Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic (MAST) helicopter from Fort Sam
Houston, Texas. They requested a hoist extraction.
The aircraft departed at 19:05 hours in a UH-1V Huey helicopter. They landed at the EMS
Command Post, where the pilot, medic, and crew were briefed on the mission.
Mountain Rescue Team members on the ground, using their flashlights, would identify the location
of the patient. Once over the scene, the crew performed a reconnaissance of the site, and
determined the area unsuitable for landing, due to the slope and terrain. The medic was then
lowered 50 feet by hoist to the patient, where he evaluated the patient, and performed a cursory
check of the civilian litter. Mountain Rescue Team members assured the medic that the patient
was adequately secured. The medic then notified the pilot that the Stokes litter and patient were
ready for the hoist operation. The litter immediately began to spin, and at 30-feet above the
ground, the spin was uncontrollable. At this point, the crew chief terminated the lift and began
lowering the spinning litter back to the ground. 25-30 feet above the ground, the patient was
ejected, feet first, from the litter.
After the patient impacted the ground, the Flight Medic examined the patient, administered
first aid, and recommended an immediate hoist evacuation using the Sked litter. The
patient was then secured in the Sked litter and following a suggestion by the Mountain
Rescue Team, tag lines were secured to both ends of the litter. (Source :report from
Collateral Investigation Board)
The patient was hoisted into the helicopter, and the medic was hoisted using the jungle penetrator.
The helicopter then flew to William Beaumont Army Medical Center where a trauma team met
them. The patient suffered numerous injuries from her fall from the litter, including head and
internal injuries, a fractured pelvis and several fractured ribs. She spent four months in a body
cast.
Although the Army and police rescue team had met to review the Army rescue equipment, the pilot
later stated that two groups had never practiced the hoist operation they attempted that night.
Upon a thorough study of the accident, an investigation board found the following factors
contributed to the accident:
1. The litter assembly was incomplete, and was lacking a foot board,
2. The mountain rescue team only secured the patient in the litter loosely for ground
transport,
3. The Flight Medic was not familiar with the litter, which turned out to have unacceptable
aerodynamic properties. The slitter was a solid Thomson litter, yet she called it a Stokes
litter. The manufacturer guidelines for the litter suggest a tag line should be used during
hoist operations.
4. The US Army Aeromedical Center had not made firm recommendations regarding the use
of tag lines to prevent the spin that occurred during this incident.
5. Although it had no direct effect on the conduct of the rescue, the board also noted that "the
lack of compatible radio equipment prevented the flight crew from contacting the ground
crew until the medic was on the ground." Until the medic was lowered, rescuers on the
