KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, NM. -- A hiker in the Caldera Mountain Range suffered a nearly 30 foot fall off a ledge on the side of the trail Oct. 26. The injured hiker’s companion called local emergency responders for help since he could not reach him down the cliff. After responding to the scene, the local emergency team decided the injured hiker needed to be airlifted to a hospital. With the fall happening at a dangerous and remote location, the teams that would normally respond to this situation were not able to provide the airlift.
The call came in to the 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., at 5:50 p.m. that the hiker needed to be rescued and taken to the hospital. Maj. Joshua Hartmann, Detachment 2 director of operations, took the call and immediately began coordinating between Detachment 2 and emergency personnel to get a UH-1N “Huey” team to the scene. A brave team made up of Maj. Kevin Cornell, mission commander and pilot; Capt. McClain Cardoso, co-pilot; and Staff Sgt. Robert Benson, special missions aviator, stepped up and volunteered to be the rescue team. Because of the extensive injuries and precarious spot on the mountain, the 351st Special Warfare Training Squadron augmented the rescue team. Tech. Sgt. Roman Ramirez, pararescueman instructor, heroically joined the rescue team.
After getting the necessary approvals to complete the mission, the rescue team of USAF Rescue 65 took off from Kirtland AFB for a one-hour flight to the mountain range. From the beginning, the team knew they would be limited by fuel issues but bravely pushed on anyway. They arrived at the injured hiker’s location to find he was on a steep slope and only 50 feet from the edge of another cliff. Benson began assessing the situation with the team, determining an inability to land and being forced to hover 40 feet from the side of the mountain.
“The terrain was extremely dangerous to try to maintain a hovering position with the wind from the mountain and having to dodge fallen trees to find the right spot to lower Ramirez,” Cardoso said.
Aiming in between the trees, Ramirez was lowered down 120 feet and made his way up the slope through extremely slick terrain to reach the hiker. Luckily, local emergency responders had provided the hiker with initial medical attention, so Ramirez was able to focus on getting the hiker ready to be hoisted to the Huey. Ramirez assessed that the hiker had sustained a possible broken back, broken right ankle, multiple broken ribs and a broken wrist so he had to be placed on a stretcher to be loaded into the Huey. While Ramirez was on the ground trying to get the hiker ready to be transported, the aircrew team constantly fought the terrain to maintain their hovering position. They had to make two passes before they were able to get back in position to receive the stretcher and hoist Ramirez back into the aircraft.
Benson constantly monitored the fuel levels and knew they needed to head to the UNM Hospital in Albuquerque immediately after Ramirez made it back into the aircraft. They began their flight to the hospital and landed at nearby Johnson Field, where the hospital’s medical team met them to pick up the hiker. Once they ensured the hiker was safely transferred to the hospital staff, the team headed back to the base where they landed with only four minutes of fuel left in the Huey.
This mission shows how the USAF training programs are producing the highest quality Airmen in the world, who always stand ready to answer the call of our nation. Our members are trained to adapt to whatever the situation calls for and can work as an effective team to rise to the challenges they face. The 58th SOW is incredibly proud of our members for their heroic actions and honored to work with our partners at the 351st SWTS.