Photo By Lt. Col. Darrin Haas | Tennessee Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk hoists Sgt. 1st Class John Sharbel and a hiker in medical distress into the aircraft near False Gap Trail, a remote area of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, southeast of Gatlinburg near the North Carolina border, March 25. see less
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Tennessee Guardsmen rescue hiker in East Tennessee
On Wednesday evening,March 25, aflight crew with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalionrescued a hiker suffering a medical emergency in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Shortly after 3:00p.m., Eastern time, the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were notified of the injuredhikerneedingimmediate medical assistance and rapid transportto a nearby hospital. The hiker was injuredalong the False Gap Trail in a remote area of the park southeast of Gatlinburg, near the North Carolina border.
Once TEMA was notified of the possible mission, Tennessee National Guardsmenassigned toTask Force Smokeyassembled a flight crewandreadieda UH-60 Blackhawk helicopterfor flight.Once the mission was approved, theaircraftdepartedJoint Base McGhee-Tysonat approximately3:40p.m., flyingdirectly tothe rescue site determined by Park Service Rangers.
In roughly 12 minutes, the aircraft arrived at the rescue site and the Tennessee National Guard flight crew, which consisted of two pilots, Chief Warrant Officer4 Thomas McKnight and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andre Salas, thecrew chief, Sgt.Gabriel Weston, andtwoflight paramedics, Sgt. 1st ClassGiovanni DeZuani and John Sharbel, began rescue operations.
Once the hiker and rescue crew were located, theaircraftcrew chief,Weston, used the hoist to lower Sharbel,the fight paramedic, from the hovering helicopter to the hiker and rescue crew. Once Sharbel was safely on the ground, he performed a medical assessment of the hiker and readied the patient to be hoisted into the aircraft. After a few minutes of rendering aid, the hiker and flight medic were then hoisted into the Blackhawk helicopter hovering overhead. When everyone was safe on board, the aircraftflew the patient to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville while first aid continued throughout the flight.
At approximately4:30p.m., theaircraftlanded atthe medical center where medical personnel rushed the patient into the emergency room. Once the patient was safely in the care of medical professionals, the aircraft returned to Louisville and landed just before 5:00 p.m.
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