03 December 2013

Paramedic Gives Account Of Plane Crash Rescue

In a copyright story from KTUU Channel 2 in Anchorage:

The Cessna 208 which crashed near St. Mary's, Alaska

Clifford Dalton has been a paramedic for more than 20 years.

Dalton said he has taken part in hundreds of medical evacuations in the Bethel region, but what he saw in the wake of a fatal crash near Mountain Village last week was unique.






It's difficult for folks in the Lower 48 to grasp just how remote much of Alaska is. But depending on weather and location, it can take two or three days for teams to get to the site of a plane crash, even when they know exactly where it is. Sometimes, crash sites aren't found for weeks or months ... if they're found at all.

8 comments:

PioneerPreppy said...

So remote but seems to have so much small plane traffic. In one way it makes sense but in another it seems contradictory as well.

Rev. Paul said...

Preppy, access is only by planes; there are no roads.
We have more planes than cars up here.

Old NFO said...

Having flown up there, and having seen the wreck charts, this one is definitely on point! And you're right, people in the lower 48 just don't understand the lack of roads...

Rev. Paul said...

Thanks, NFO. On point, less than 10% of the communities in Alaska have any roads. There are hundreds of thousands of square miles with no roads at all.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Not much by Alaska standards but the Colorado Rockies are mainly inaccessible in the winter. A commuter airline crash in 1978 stands out.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11844780
I spent the winter of 1966-67 maintaining meteorology recording equipment along that stretch of the Continental Divide. -20 to -40 below zero was fairly common. One instrument recorded sustained winds over 70 mph (the max the instrument would record).

Rev. Paul said...

Crashes in mountainous regions are always tough, and where you were was (and is) nasty. Tough job.

joated said...

Kudos to the locals for stepping up and becoming first responders instead of--as would happen in many parts of the lower 48--sitting on their haunches and waiting for the "officials" to get there.

Still, only half an hour for the official response teams to get there? WOW! That's pretty damn good. Takes almost that long for the volunteer fire company from the neighboring town to reach my area. I know that for a fact as the house down the hill became fully engulfed during that half hour a couple of years ago.

Rev. Paul said...

Understood & agreed, joated. Thanks!