Team effort culminates in 40th Helicopter Squadron’s 374th save

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Terry Nelson
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  At approximately 1:30 p.m. July 24, 49-year-old Julie Elwell, who was visiting from Kansas, was hiking a trail along Belt Creek with family members in Sluice Boxes State Park, located about eight miles south of Belt, Mont., when she lost her footing and fell more than 30 feet, hit a ledge and landed in the creek. 

Family members at the bottom of the ravine rushed to where Ms. Elwell had fallen and pulled her to a shallow area before calling 911. 

The call went out and the Belt City Fire Department, Belt Rural Fire Rescue, Cascade County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue, and Great Falls Emergency Services Advanced Life Support responded to the scene. Two wardens from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the Sluice Boxes State Park manager also responded. 

Emergency responders drove five miles on a gravel road, parked their vehicles and hiked three additional miles to reach Ms. Elwell. 

The Belt responders, who were closest to the scene, arrived 35 to 40 minutes after receiving the call and immediately placed Ms. Elwell, who had sustained life-threatening injuries, onto a backboard and stabilized her neck with a C-collar. They carried her to flatter, more stable ground and called the Joint Rescue Coordination Center to request air evacuation. 

Ms. Elwell, who was alert but in terrific pain, was then covered with a thermal blanket to help prevent hypothermia and was put on oxygen. 

"We arrived about 30 minutes or so after the Belt and Cascade County guys did because we came from Great Falls," said Mike Shell, a paramedic with the Great Falls Emergency Services Advanced Life Support team. "The guys arriving on-scene before us did an outstanding job. We started an IV and gave her some pain medication." 

A five-person UH-1N "Huey" helicopter crew from the 40th Helicopter Squadron departed Malmstrom Air Force Base at approximately 2:45 p.m. for the 15 minute flight to the accident scene. 

The crew included Maj. Ryan Dahlin, aircraft commander; Capt. Andrew Ackles, co-pilot; Master Sgt. Scott Andrews, flight engineer; Col. Marcel Dionne, flight doctor and Senior Airman Kenvin Keophakdy, aero-medical technician. 

"The first challenge was getting our medical team down to the survivor's location with their equipment because there were very few available landing areas," Major Dahlin said. "The second was finding a way to get [the aircraft] light enough to safely execute the operation, which required us to hover at high altitudes." 

The closest area with enough rotor clearance to land the helicopter amongst the trees was 50 yards uphill from Ms. Elwell. 

Once on the ground, Colonel Dionne and Airman Keophakdy exited the helicopter with 70 pounds of medical equipment and a Stokes litter, a device used to hoist injured patients. 

"That was a brutal 50 yards," Airman Keophakdy said. "The slope was steep with loose gravel and jagged rocks. I was relieved we didn't have to carry the patient back up the hill. I don't think it would have been possible." 

Once the two arrived at the creek, they handed the Stokes litter, equipped with flotation devices, to members of the rescue party already in the water. 

"It took about five people to swim the Stokes litter across the creek to the patient. It was deep and the current was strong where they were," Airman Keophakdy said. 

The rescue party then attached a rope to two trees on opposite sides of the river, another rope was then attached to the Stokes litter and tossed over the other rope. This allowed rescuers to pull on the rope attached to the litter, keeping Ms. Elwell's head above water, while five other rescuers pushed her across the river. 

"Our specialty is hoisting patients into the helicopter, not water rescue," Colonel Dionne said. "I was very impressed with the ground crew's efforts. The water rescue was critical to getting her across the creek to an open place where we could hoist her into the helicopter." 

After Ms. Elwell was hauled across the creek, Colonel Dionne hiked back to the helicopter. Major Dahlin then flew over top of Ms. Elwell, and the hoist cable was lowered to Airman Keophakdy, who attached it to the Stokes litter. Airman Keophakdy then steadied Ms. Elwell with a tag line as she was hoisted more than 100 feet above Belt Creek into the helicopter. 

Once Ms. Elwell was safely aboard, Airman Keophakdy and Ms. Elwell's husband hiked uphill to the landing zone and Major Dahlin picked them up. 

At approximately 3:30 p.m., with Ms. Elwell, her husband and the crew aboard, the helicopter transported her directly to Benefis Hospital. Ms Elwell was the 40th Helicopter Squadron's 374th life saved. 

"Contributing to saving a life is the greatest compensation any pilot could ask for. Rescue is the most rewarding type of flying we do, that others may live," Major Dahlin said. "Everyone involved was extremely professional and well organized. [The rescue party] had the patient stabilized well before we were on the scene. They deserve a great deal of credit for what they do and they do it much more often than our aircrews." 

Bob Wojciechowski, Cascade County Sheriff's deputy said, given the difficult terrain, it would have taken anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours longer to safely carry the woman from where she landed to the ambulance than it did to transport her directly to the hospital via helicopter. 

"We'd still be hauling her right now," Mr. Wojciechowski said as the helicopter flew overhead, en route to Benefis. "It literally can be a lifesaver."