Helicopter Lady Rescue

About

Helicopter Lady Rescue refers to a viral video of a 74-year-old woman being airlifted by a rescue team in Phoenix, Arizona after she was injured hiking. During the rescue, the woman's stretcher spins out of control in mid-air.

Origin

On June 4th, 2019, Fox 10 Phoenix tweeted a video titled, "WILD HELICOPTER RESCUE: Firefighters say a 74-year-old woman had to be flown off of Piestewa Peak this morning after she suffered an injury while hiking" (shown below). The video gained over 40,300 retweets and 130,700 likes in three days.

Spread

On June 4th, 2019, Twitter users responded with shock as the rescue itself looked like a disaster. Twitter user @MarcinBrixen^[1] asked, "Did she survive the rescue?" to which @tonerrr_ replied "From what I understand, she is still spinning" (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 26,800 likes and 1,100 retweets in three days. Many Twitter users criticized the rescue team. @AllieKeeley1^[2] tweeted, "The air crew needs to be reassigned immediately and someone needs to be terminated. This is 100% not okay. Spins can and should be controlled with proper tethering" (shown below, right). The tweet gained over 600 likes in three days.

That same day, FOX 10 Phoenix, after confirming that the woman was okay, posted a live video to Facebook of the Phoenix Fire answering reporters questions regarding the rescue. The chief pilot revealed that one of the ropes snapped causing the basket to spin out of control.

On June 4th, Many Twitter users like @JoeCarnegie responded with GIF's from TV Shows and other viral videos illustrating a failed rescue or something spinning out of control. @JoeCarnegie's post gained over 19,100 likes and 1,400 retweets in three days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References