Retiring rescue helicopter paramedic Doug Flett recalls life on the frontline
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The call came at midnight. An emergency beacon had been activated. That was all intensive care paramedic Doug Flett, pilot Graeme Gale, co-pilot Mike Reed and Search And Rescue’s Brian Benn knew as their helicopter ascended into the darkness at Taieri Airfield. Who, why, where – they did not have a clue. “We picked up the beacon not long after lifting off and tracked it heading north towards the coast,” Flett recalls of that May, 2003, night. Back then, the National Rescue Co-ordination Centre was a Monday to Friday, daytime operation. After-hours jobs were run from the on-duty staffer’s home using a briefcase and a cellphone. On this occasion, things did not go well. >click to read< 08:59
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