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Shortly after noon on July 14,
2001, a 911 call was received reporting that a hang glider had
crashed on top of Talcott Mountain in Simsbury. Rescue units,
4x4 vehicles and personnel began to stage on Summit Ridge Drive
as interviews with witnesses and search teams attempted to
accurately pinpoint the crash site. The victim was located about
100' south of the hang glider launch point, and
Rescue 15
along with other vehicles carrying equipment and personnel,
relocated to the top of Talcott Mountain to begin rescue
operations.
This high-angle rescue was
complicated by two combining factors. In this model of glider,
the pilot sat inside a cage feet first, as it was steered by a
joystick. Witnesses reported the the left wind dragged the
ground on take off and when it launched, and a gust of wind
suddenly came up and brought the glider back around and into the
face of the ridge. Upon impact, the glider became tightly wedged
in between the face of the ridge and an outcrop, suspended 50'
above any level ground.
The search team hiked in from
Summit Ridge Drive along a trail known as the "Goat Path",
climbed to the top of the outcrop and established verbal contact
with the victim 20' feet below. Because of the precarious
location of the victim in this incident, the decision was made
to lower the rescuers on pulleys instead of rappelling down, as
a switchover from descenders to a hoist pulleys would be
impossible. This proved to be a critical decision as the
rescuers needed to be raised and lowered a matter of feet
several times during the operation to effect rescue.
A line was lowered and attached
to the glider frame to secure it. Sections of the frame had to
be removed before rescuers could attach a line to the victim.
Dismantling the frame was time consuming, complicated by the
concern that disassembly could cause the frame and victim to
become dislodged and fall to the ground.
Being suspended above the
ground, there was no way to place the victim in a Stokes Basket
for hoisting. Concern over the victim's injuries and the time
elapsed grew, and the decision was made to secure the victim as
best as feasibly possible, and walk the victim back up the slope
to the top. Once back on top, medical personnel began treatment
and packaging. The victim was transported by pickup truck down
to an awaiting
Life Star helicopter and flown to the hospital.
With 4-wheel drive capability, Rescue 15 is driven to the top of Talcott Mountain and other personnel and gear are brought up in other vehicles. Firefighters Cliff Williams and Todd Myers don their harnesses with the assistance of Melissa Westerberg and Frank Guilfoyle. Rescuers standby as the rope lines are properly set for the operation. Firefighter Todd Myers prepares to be lowered to the victim. Awaiting Firefighter Myers descent, Firefighter Melissa Westerberg tends the belay line. Todd Myers cautiously works his way down to the crash site. Firefighter Cliff Williams prepares to descend and assist. Firefighter Adam Libros tends the second belay line. The team works to extricate the victim from the glider. Bringing the victim back to the top. Firefighter David Beliveau, Chief Michael Jepeal and Captain Peter Gilbert observe the ascent. Haul teams work to bring everyone back to the top while medical personnel prepare to receive and treat the victim. Firefighters, and personnel from LifeStar and Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance work to stabilize and package the victim. Firefighter Kristin Kowalski is sent down to retrieve the glider. Partial remnants of the glider. Assistant Chief Michael Jepeal explains the operation for the media.
With 4-wheel drive capability, Rescue 15 is driven to the top of Talcott Mountain and other personnel and gear are brought up in other vehicles.
Photographs by
Ken Beliveau
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