LOUISVILLE, Tenn. – In the early hours of Tuesday, September 10, a flight crew from the Tennessee Army National Guard successfully rescued an injured hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
At around 3 a.m. Eastern Time, the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) were alerted about an injured hiker needing immediate transport to a hospital. The hiker was located in a remote area near Bullhead Trail, south of Gatlinburg, close to the North Carolina border.
Latest TN News
Upon receiving the mission notification, the Tennessee National Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Smokey assembled a flight crew and prepared a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter for the rescue operation. The mission was approved, and the aircraft departed Joint Base McGhee-Tyson at approximately 4:50 a.m., heading directly to Bullhead Trail.
The flight crew included two pilots, Capt. Brandon Rodriguez and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Luke Hargrove, crew chief Staff Sgt. Ernest Harlan, and flight paramedic Sgt. 1st Class John Sharbel.
Twenty minutes after takeoff, the crew located the hiker along with park rangers from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, who were providing initial first aid.
By 5:15 a.m., crew chief Ernest Harlan hoisted paramedic John Sharbel down to the ground to perform a quick medical assessment and prepare the hiker for transport. After rendering aid for a few minutes, the hiker and Sharbel were hoisted into the helicopter, where first aid continued. The helicopter then flew to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
At approximately 5:45 a.m., the helicopter landed at the medical center, where medical personnel quickly took the patient into the emergency room. With the patient safely in the care of medical professionals, the aircraft returned to Louisville, landing just before 6:15 a.m.
Source: Read Original Release