One-of-a-kind flight crew recounts daring Kanarraville Falls rescue

One-of-a-kind flight crew recounts daring Kanarraville Falls rescue


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OGDEN — A 16-year-old boy fell 60 feet into a slot canyon and had to be hoisted out Wednesday afternoon. The Intermountain Healthcare Life Flight team that saved him is the only civilian EMS crew in the country trained to perform these kinds of rescues.

With very few details about the situation, pilot Dennis Patterson and his crew got in their helicopter Wednesday and headed south, from Ogden to Kannaraville.

Once they reached the area where the teen had fallen, they knew it was going to be tricky getting him out. It was an extremely narrow canyon, and the teen had fallen a long way down.

"He was surrounded by tall trees and dead snags," Patterson said.

Rescue crews on the ground had to carefully move the teen to a flat rock where the chopper had a chance of reaching him.

That's when Patterson's more than 40 years of flying experience and his team's skill really came in. With the sun glare on his windshield and a massive rock wall in front of him, Patterson could hardly see a thing.

"I was able to get in with the helicopter with the nurse, because they were able to talk me in," he said.

While operating the hook, the nurse guided Patterson by looking over the edge. As they hovered, the nurse lowered the paramedic down to the ground.

The chopper then left to go get fuel. When he returned, Patterson had to again carefully maneuver down to the teen. The nurse picked up the patient in a bag, and with the paramedic attached, reeled them in. Patterson had to start flying out at the same time so they didn't start spinning.

"I trust them with my life, and they trust me with their lives, and we work together as a team," he said.

Had Patterson's crew not reached the teen, ground rescuers would have had to carry him down three waterfalls and some steep terrain. He is now recovering at Dixie Medical Center and is expected to be OK.

But the whole rescue is no big deal, right? Not for this team.

"I was a whole lot more nervous standing in front of a camera telling you this story than I was actually doing the flight," Patterson said.

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Jennifer Stagg

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