Episode 9 Helicopter Heroes

If you're critically ill or seriously injured in a place like this,

there's only one thing that can save you and that's speed.

It doesn't matter where you are this helicopter,

with its highly trained team of pilots and paramedics,

will fly to your rescue at 4.5 miles a minute.

These are Yorkshire's Helicopter Heroes.

When the people of England's biggest county dial 999

there's a good chance help will come from the skies.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is ready to scramble 365 days a year

and each one brings a new life or death emergency.

Today on Helicopter Heroes, there's a major road accident.

Difficulty getting through because the weather is quite bad up here.

And the Helimed team are battling appalling weather.

One of the RAF's top guns ejects.

At the moment he is in quite severe pain but he is stable.

Why this teenage showjumper looks a little familiar to paramedic Darren Axe.

As far as I am aware, she will be the first repeat customer that we've ever had.

And a young biker proves wearing the right safety gear can't always save you from serious injury.

How does that feel, does that feel normal?

Rain is one of the biggest hazards on the road

yet, still the easiest to forget.

It takes longer to stop, you can't see as well

and if you need help, that is going to take longer too.

It's a rainy day on the outskirts of Leeds and Helimed 99 is at the scene of a road accident.

The occupants of two cars have been lucky, their injuries are minor

despite an impact which tore off the suspension of one vehicle.

Paramedics Pat and Sammy know none of the casualties are serious enough to need a flight to hospital,

which is just as well,

they are badly needed 30 miles away.

'We've got a four vehicle RTA with persons trapped on a coach, over.'

As far as we know there's been a road traffic involving a coach with possibly four people injured.

Weather's coming in a bit

but hopefully we should be able to make it there.

Just get off as soon as we can.

High in the hills of the Yorkshire Wolds there's been a major accident.

Emergency services from two counties have been scrambled to the crash.

I come round the bend, I just saw the bus in the middle of the road,

and then I saw the cars on the side. That's all I have seen.

Helimed 99 receiving York control.

At least three patients reported unconscious

and as many as up to eight patients injured, and that is without any update as yet.

Helimed 99, roger, is there any chance you could get in touch with our air desk

and ask the availability of the second aircraft?

Helimed 99 that's already been done. They are contacting the RAF for support.

Pilot Steve Cobb knows they're urgently needed.

He also knows the weather is deteriorating and he is going to need all his skills to get there.

-I don't think this is going to work, Sammy.

-It's not looking good is it?

It's not very high at the moment.

-This must be the lowest part of the...

-The journey.

At last Sammy and Steve find a valley that will take them through the hills

to the location of the accident and the news from the scene isn't good.

At the moment there are four patients but that is just an initial scene sweep,

I am waiting for a more substantial update.

I have been told there are 56 Polish persons on board.

We have no idea if any of them are injured.

Helimed 99, roger, just for your information

we are having difficulty in getting through because the weather is quite bad up here.

Drenched by heavy rain and covered by low cloud, the accident scene is a paramedic's nightmare.

A coach load of foreign workers, five seriously injured patients,

two of them still trapped in the wreckage of their vehicles.

The dilemma for Pat and Sammy is who needs them most.

The Polish workers, most of them can speak a little bit of English...

but obviously this guy here...

I think he'll probably be ours.

-He's just severely trapped.

-He's the worse trapped, you take that one and then I'll check those two out.

Coming up, the first victim of the accident is freed but his life is in the balance.

The first casualty has been taken by the police helicopter.

The team welcome aboard their first frequent flyer.

This is her second trip on the ambulance now, also horse related.

And what happened when a 14 year old racing driver hit the barriers.

Yorkshire is home is to some of the UK's most crowded skies.

All the RAF top gun pilots start their training here.

So, these guys have to keep a good lookout

and if there's a crash, the Helimed team are among the first to know.

Every morning at the Helimed base there's a briefing for the crew.

We've got Brough occasional reactivation.

If it is happening in the air over Yorkshire they'll find out about it.

Aerobatic practice by military aircraft at RAF Linton on Ouse

and that's from 12 o'clock to half twelve daily.

20 miles away at the RAF's busiest base,

the fighter pilots of tomorrow are learning to fly 300mph Tucano trainers.

Their instructors include some of the RAF's most experienced top guns

and each year one is selected to perform in air displays across the country.

But today his aerobatic sequence has ended in a terrible crash.

Helimed 98 outbound to Linton.

Helimed 98 is on the case.

An air crash means an instant scramble.

For ex-military pilot Tim Taylor the adrenalin is pumping.

Get the 55 just in case he's not on the airfield, mate.

'Just to let you know RAF Kinloss has been on,

'Rescue 128 are coming across from Leconfield.

'Their medical officer says all ejectees should go to Queen's

'at Nottingham. I have told him if he's badly injured we will be going into the nearest, over.'

Helimed 98, yeah roger, all received.

Can we confirm this is actually on the airfield, over.

'Helimed 98, apparently the aircraft we believe on the base

'but they haven't located the pilot that has ejected, as yet, over.'

This is serious, the pilot has ejected at 50 feet.

Bailing out too low has killed pilots in the past.

If he's bailed out he'll have a sore back.

The only issue I have is he might have flares and pyrotechnics in his waistcoat.

I think if he is seriously injured we'll just scoop him and take him to LGI.

Linton's entire fleet of Tucano trainers is being recalled to base

-or asked to land elsewhere.

-There's one to the left.

-There.

Wilco, Helimed 98 Alpha.

Luckily they have found the pilot,

he has landed on the airfield itself.

The crashed plane has hit the ground yards from the runway.

-Hi there.

-How are you doing?

-Not too bad. How are you doing here?

Obviously, we've got a pilot doing aerobatics,

ejectee approximately 50 feet from the ground.

Basically, we are worried about his back and the smoothest route to the hospital.

OK we got a message about SAR on their way as well.

Probably from Leconfield, yeah.

Hiya, doc, I'm Pete.

-What's this guy's name?

-The pilot is one of the RAF's top air show crew.

He's been incredibly lucky.

He has ejected from his Tucano trainer at just 50 feet in the middle of an aerobatic display.

He started doing his second run

and the aircraft didn't recover out of a loop basically.

Now have you ever had morphine before?

-Yes.

-You have. Any problems with that?

-No.

-Right.

But he is complaining of back pain, it's a bad sign.

Ejection can badly damage the spine.

Military pilots learn to live with huge forces of acceleration.

In combat, they will experience up to 10G

when the human body can literally weigh a tonne.

The display pilot has just endured 100G.

That's what happens when high explosives blast an ejection seat out of a plane.

He is in quite a deal of pain at the moment.

He has obviously got the back pain from ejecting from the aircraft.

In combination with that he has fractured his left wrist and he has also got an injury to his ankle.

So, at the moment he is in quite severe pain but he is stable.

The pilot is a former Harrier Jump Jet ace who survived combat in the Gulf War unscathed.

But the flying instructor knows better than most that one ejection can end a military pilot's career.

Coming up, the RAF scramble their own rescue team to airlift the downed flyer.

Paramedic Pat is concerned for the condition of a seriously injured driver.

He's trapped by his chest and his legs.

And the unsung heroes of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade come to the rescue.

The two Yorkshire air ambulances cover a population of five million.

So, your chances of getting a life saving flight aren't that high.

But one patient has beaten those odds by claiming a title few of us would envy.

It's the spring of 2008 and teenage rider Charlotte needs help.

She has just come off her horse, Muffin, on a farm in North Yorkshire and she's in pain.

Helimed 99 is coming to the rescue with paramedic Darren Axe on board,

a man who is unlikely to take up showjumping any time soon.

He knows what horses can do to the human body.

You could wind up with a burst bladder or sever major blood vessels

but we've also got other injuries as well.

A possible fractured arm and another fractured leg.

Charlotte is in good hands.

She'll soon be in hospital being checked out for back injuries.

And Charlotte is about to become a statistic.

One of 6,000 patients carried by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in nine years.

They are absolutely fantastic.

They came and did a wonderful job

and sorted her out very quickly, which was brilliant.

Despite a lengthy stay in hospital and a dislocated hip

Charlotte was determined to get back in the saddle as soon as possible.

I probably won't jump for a while.

As soon as I could walk I was on a horse.

I really want to go riding now but it might be a bit hard.

But barely a year after her recovery,

Helimed 99 is heading to a farm in North Yorkshire

with a familiar address.

Darren Axe can't help having a feeling of deja vu.

We have arrived on scene at this detail.

My colleague is checking the patient out.

When I saw the patient I realised that I've seen this patient before

and taken her to hospital.

So, as far as I am aware she will be the first repeat customer that we've ever had with the air ambulance.

-What's her name?

-Charlotte.

Charlotte are you all right, sweetie?

Charlotte, we are just going to have a little feel on your back

while we wait for my colleague to get his spinal board.

OK were you knocked out at all?

-No.

-OK.

You have definitely got some pain in the middle of your back.

Charlotte, do you have some pain in the middle of your back?

-Here.

-OK. When my colleague's come what we'll do is straighten your legs out

and roll you onto your back to have a proper look at you.

Once again Charlotte has come off her horse and injured her back.

Her mum is concerned for her daughter, coming off so soon after her last injury.

Let's take your hat off make your more comfy.

Unfortunately we have had a riding accident before, yes.

She is in pain in mainly her back, her leg and her knee.

And her breathing has not been too brilliant but it seems to be better now.

What is your horse called then?

-Muffin.

-Fluffy?

-Muffin.

-Muffin.

Sounds more like a cat than a horse.

This time the team has Dr Tim Mole on board.

Ready, steady, roll.

Good girl.

Straighten your legs up, please.

That's it we're not going to hurt you. Just want to check out the middle of your back.

Got to be very careful with horses and backs.

Last year, Charlotte's injuries weren't too serious

but this time she has hit a fence as well as the ground.

The horse just took off with her. He wasn't stopping.

And I thought he was stopping at the fence here but the horse and her just came straight over.

She still has feeling in her legs, that's a good sign.

-OK, you are doing really well.

-But Doctor Tim is not taking any chances,

she could have a spinal injury

and she will have to be checked out in hospital.

She seems to have injured probably the sides, near where her back is.

She has got quite a lot of leg pain as well.

Her airway is fine, her breathing is fine,

her circulation seems to be fine, which is all good.

We have to take a fall from a height and back pain quite seriously.

We are going to immobilise her back so no further damage could happen

and we are going to take her off to York Hospital for some precautionary X-rays and things.

Paramedic Darren isn't used to seeing patients twice,

but he knows Charlotte didn't choose to hurt herself again.

If we are going into York, we will be there no later than 13.00.

Ten minutes.

Ready, steady and lift.

Charlotte is a talented rider and she has been very unlucky to have two bad falls in such a short time.

We've reserved your usual seat. Nice and cosy!

X-rays at York Hospital will confirm whether Charlotte has indeed damaged her back.

For doctor Tim, her accident has confirmed his views of horses.

They are big, they are fast, unpredictable, they are dangerous,

they are definitely dangerous and you are going to get a lot of injuries from them.

This is her second trip on the ambulance now, also horse related.

So, let's hope she sticks to a safer hobby next time.

Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

Thankfully, Charlotte's injuries prove to be minor and she's now back in the saddle.

Coming up, an RAF fighter ace has survived a last minute ejection, but has it damaged his spine?

And, Helimed 99 is on the home straight as a motor race is halted following a crash.

Now, let's rejoin the rescue operation to save the seriously injured victims

of a multiple pile-up high on the Yorkshire Wolds.

On a country road in the heart of East Yorkshire,

three cars and a coach have crashed, seriously injuring five people.

This is a major incident. Paramedics Pat and Sammy desperately need back up.

The crew of the local police helicopter will take a man with head injuries to hospital in Hull.

But the man who was driving the car in which he was a passenger is a long way from surgery.

He is trapped in the twisted wreckage of his Citroen.

It is quite a difficult situation because both cars are in quite a severe state.

We are just establishing some pain relief

before we start cutting him out, which is morphine.

To add to the paramedics problems their patient is Polish and

his command of English means they don't know exactly what his injuries are.

-Do you speak any English?

-Yes.

Do you have any medical problems?

We are still having difficulties getting this gent out of this car.

He is trapped by his chest and legs.

Fortunately the passengers on the coach, many of them

workmates of the injured driver, have escaped serious injury.

Now, they can only watch as the battle to free their colleague goes on.

At least the team have a willing helper in pilot Steve, who is free to talk to base.

Pat's asking could you just give Dave an update

and a request that he has a crew available at York.

Once we've got him out, we are just going to snatch and go.

With the road blocked in both directions by emergency vehicles and

queuing traffic, helicopters are vital.

Thankfully, the RAF is flying to the rescue.

On board a Sea King from the local search and rescue base is a medical team

which includes two basics doctors, volunteer GPs trained in trauma medicine.

OK that chap's going with yours and this one's coming with RAF.

So the rest are out.

Pavel was driving to work from his home in Hull

to a meat packing plant 40 miles away in North Yorkshire when the accident happened.

The bus was on the same journey.

The head-on impact has left him and another driver pinned in their cars.

Are we ready?

Cutting now.

Paramedic Pat suspects Pavel may have broken his back.

It means he will have to be removed from his seat very carefully if they are not to further damage his spine.

Pat's trying hard to reduce Pavel's pain while the fire service work out how to free his legs.

The speed limit on this road is 60.

The two drivers could have survived an impact of up to 120 mph.

But the weather is freezing and both are beginning to show the signs of hypothermia.

One patient is already on his way to hospital by air.

The first casualty has been taken by the police helicopter and

this guy here is going to go with the RAF.

We have our patient in that car over there,

still quite badly trapped, so it could be a while for us yet.

The weather is not getting better.

Steve knows it could be an hour or more before he gets to take off with his patient.

But there is some good news.

Our pilot has just asked me to pass on to you

that the weather conditions towards Hull are clear.

Right. We are going to York.

Steve knows that Hull Royal Infirmary have received most of the patients from the crash.

So taking another critical case there could overload its doctors.

He must fly west to York into the worst of the weather if Pavel is to have the best chance of recovery.

Coming up, the driver is finally freed but his survival is in serious doubt.

The teenage racing driver proves he has the skills for Formula One by blaming someone else.

The other car went into the back of me.

When the scramble phone rings at the Helimed base, every call out gets the same response.

But for the aircrew, a plane crash means an extra sense of urgency.

At RAF training base in North Yorkshire, a Tucano trainer

has crashed seconds after its pilot bailed out in the middle of an aerobatics display.

His ejection from his stricken plane has left him with severe pain

from back injuries, a broken wrist and ankle.

Paramedic Pete Vallance has given him morphine to dull the pain.

He was 50 feet doing acrobatics when this occurred.

What we need to do now will be a joint effort.

Search and rescue are coming in.

With anyone who ejects from an aircraft, they go to Nottingham to be checked over.

That is a specialist centre for it. We'll stabilise him, get him packaged and

then Search and Rescue guys will nip him down there an he will get the treatment he requires.

The pilot has been in good hands.

The station medical officer was in the gym raising money

for Comic Relief when he was scrambled to the crash.

He is still wearing his red nose tee shirt.

We are busy in the fund raising thing because it's Comic Relief day tomorrow.

Just trying to raise some money for charity and then we heard there'd been an accident.

We were really still assessing him when the air ambulance got here,

so we really need to get him off to hospital now.

In 20 years, only three Tucanos have actually crashed.

But the airfield's emergency crews were quick to react.

The aircraft at the time was doing aerobatics.

So, the crash crew and the ambulance were already manned up.

So, when he hit the ground, they immediately responded.

So, they were here within a minute at the most.

The RAF has grounded its Tucano trainer fleet until the emergency is over.

The pilot was booked to perform at air displays all over the UK. Now that's in doubt.

And even more could be at stake.

Back injuries can ground pilots for good.

The pilot has been very lucky. 30 years ago, few airmen would have survived ejecting at just 50 feet

but the former Jump Jet pilot's parachute opened in time and saved his life.

Can you get me a blanket to go on top?

The RAF has 50 years of knowledge in treating the injuries caused by ejection seats.

They have a specialist unit at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham

where downed pilots can be nursed back to health.

What you want to do is keep him so his legs won't be on the ground as we come out.

They've got to be slightly raised off there.

Helimed 98 won't be carrying this patient.

The RAF has called in a Sea King Search and Rescue helicopter

to fly the pilot the 80 miles to Nottingham.

Search and Rescue have given us an ETA now.

They will be here in two or three minutes.

We will hand over. One of the RAF doctors

will then travel with the patient through to hospital.

There was a time when any ejection

reduced a pilot's height by an inch, crushing his vertebrae.

Two ejections and you were grounded.

This flyer was lucky. The advances in technology meant

he quickly recovered and will soon be back in the air again.

Coming up, the victim of a major accident needs an urgent flight to hospital.

Helimed 99, just to let you know, this patient is critical.

Can the team beat the weather?

The Helimed team love their machinery and off-duty, many of them are motor sport nuts.

But a new generation of petrol heads are keeping them busy at work too.

None of these young petrol heads is out of their teens, yet they are

spending their Sunday afternoon roaring around a kart circuit at 70 mph

and occasionally crashing.

This is how Formula One drivers like Jensen Button started their careers.

And flying paramedic Paul Bradbury hopes his 11-year-old son Connor

will soon hit the big time too, despite the dangers.

Motor sport is safe if it is regulated properly

and I'd much rather he was doing this than

riding a horse which you are dealing with an animal

but you've not really got total control over it.

It's got a mind of its own and it will do what it wants regardless of

how good a rider and how good a horse you've got.

But youngsters doing motor sports certainly keep Yorkshire's flying paramedics busy.

On the outskirts of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, a combination of

youthful exuberance and a few dozen horsepower has brought this daring teenager's day to a painful end.

We've been despatched up into Pateley Bridge up in the

Dales area to an incident involving a motor cyclist but an off road motor cyclist.

Come off a trials bike.

But his next burst of adrenalin is about to come from Helimed 99.

Famous among petrol heads as the machine that saved Top Gear's Richard Hammond for the nation.

On board are paramedics Al Day and Lee Davison.

And they both know what today's patient is going through.

They both used to ride off road motorbikes in their younger days

and understand the draw of petrol fumes in a circuit full of twists, turns and jumps.

I was riding bikes since I was five or six.

All sorts of off road bikes.

I've also got road time as well on some bigger machines.

I used to love the off road type of stuff,

but obviously the main thing in off-roading is the protection.

You must wear proper protection. If you don't, it will catch you out.

Yorkshire has been bathed in sunshine for days and that's causing problems for pilot Steve Cobb.

As he tries to land Helimed 99, the dust blown up from the disused quarry

means he can barely see the ground.

INAUDIBLE

A ground medic has just arrived to help 17-year-old Joshua Pope.

He has been thrown off his quad bike and is still lying where he fell.

-Hi, are you all right.

-Yes.

-Al's just doing your blood pressure, all right.

-Yeah.

He's also got some worrying symptoms. Tingling in his fingers

and pain in his neck could all be signs of a very serious injury.

It could indicate some sort of spinal injury so we are going to

have to be gentle with him and just treat him carefully.

A nice smooth ride to get him down to hospital.

It is a lot better for him to fly out of here because, although it is

not that far to Harrogate from here, the ride out of this quarry in the ambulance

is going to be very bumpy and if he does have a spinal injury, that could make it a lot worse.

Joshua's family and friends come here every year for a weekend of racing.

But they all make sure they are wearing the right protective clothing.

It's not cheap but a good helmet, back protector and sturdy boots

have almost certainly saved Joshua's life.

One, two, three, roll.

Medics like Lee and Al know that every time they touch a patient

with a spinal injury they could make it worse.

One wrong move and Joshua's quad-biking days could be over.

Helimed 99 is not only quicker at transporting patients to hospital, but avoiding bumpy country roads

makes it a smoother ride as well and that could make all the difference to Joshua's recovery.

He has had a lot of good protective clothing on,

he had a proper back protector on, proper kidney protector, good helmet, good gloves, everything.

Just some pain relief. Got him as comfortable as we can.

His observations are fine. Flying him to Harrogate.

After a thorough examination in hospital, doctors could find no serious injuries and

Joshua is now back on his quad bike and with a rescue story he can recount for the rest of his life.

Back at the kart track, paramedic Paul has made sure his son Connor has all the right kit, too.

He knows how important it can be.

All the drivers have to do a test or an exam before they can actually get in the karts and race on a track.

Before every race and every meeting, we have a scrutineer that comes out, checks all the karts to make sure

they are safe and the suits are safe, helmet, gloves, neck protectors and shoes.

So, everything that happens around the sport is regulated.

But for some teenagers, karts aren't enough.

They want to race the real thing.

Grass track racing involves old bangers and lots of mud.

And today in North Yorkshire, the race has ended in a dramatic accident.

Paramedics Tony Wilkes and Ben Anderson are used to car crashes but not with drivers this young.

At the Yorkshire Dales grass track circuit, racing has been halted and

in the back of a St. John's Ambulance,

first aiders are taking care of 14 year old Aidan Ingles after a high speed smash.

Shunted from behind. He says he felt his head go forward.

I saw a big cloud of dust and bits of car flying everywhere.

I was kind of chilling out watching it. Ooh, what happened there?

Racing drivers have a fatalistic attitude to crashing

and competitors in the next race can't wait for Helimed 99 to clear the track.

They will just have to wait.

He was boarded, collared, he was carried out of the vehicle and the crews in there with him as well.

Aidan crashed in front of hundreds of spectators many of them parents of drivers.

They don't know how serious his injury is.

A marshal saw it happen.

Three cars came together.

One got squeezed and bounced off the alcove.

Unfortunately another car collected it right up the back

and he's damaged his neck I think, so he's not so well.

We cut the door skins off, we cut the roll cage off the side

and then we managed to get him out sideways and on to the board.

This is Aidan, 14 years old. He's... oh, they've moved it now.

Volunteer medics have done a good job making sure his spine

is protected and keeping him warm in the back of their Land Rover.

What's worrying Tony is a lump track medics believe they have felt in Aidan's neck.

It could be broken.

Tony knows Aidan urgently needs to be checked out in hospital.

Aidan's dad, Peter, who doubles as his mechanic and manager, saw it all.

He's keeping a brave face.

They came off the bottom corner and I'm not sure if it was the steering on the car

but he was forced into the alcove and another vehicle

sort of like shunted the stationary vehicle

and unfortunately that's the result.

Bring him across slowly, I suppose.

It's quite thick grass...

Aidan knew he had chosen a risky sport but he never expected this.

Psychologists say teenagers are much worse than adults at recognising danger.

Now Aidan has come face to face with the reality of a racing accident.

Tony is doing his best to relax him.

Fingers crossed you've not done any harm.

Obviously all this precaution in case you have done some damage to your back, all right.

Everything seems to be in order.

So, we will fly down to Harrogate and have a look at you.

One good sign is Aidan can remember exactly what happened.

The other car went up the back of me.

At least he's not been unconscious.

His fellow drivers are about to start the next race

but it will be a while before Aidan sees the chequered flag again.

The first time you've been in a helicopter, innit?

Dad's flying too.

Father and son live in Harrogate but they couldn't have counted on going home this quickly.

Just precautionary is this.

Better safe than sorry.

Last year he was junior runner up in his club champion.

He has got a few trophies for second and third places.

He's got no fear. He's all go for it, is Aidan.

Helimed 99. We will be landing in about another three minutes.

I may lose you because of my low height.

It will be a tense hour before Peter Ingles finds out if his teenage son has sustained a serious injury.

Doctors at Harrogate Hospital are on standby.

It was one of those small cars with a roll cage, well strapped in.

He has had a bump from behind by another car.

In a few minutes Aidan will be undergoing a full examination.

That will decide whether he is given the all clear

or faces weeks in hospital.

But just a week later car number 106 has its driver back.

Aidan was released from hospital after a check up.

His injury was no worse than a bit of whiplash.

The rigid steel roll cage he and his dad built into the car saved him.

I think he was very lucky really.

You've got the strength of the cage and you've got the harness

over your shoulder so you are pinned to your seat.

If they are on properly you cannot move from your seat.

I think for those safety features, yeah he's a lucky lad.

Aidan can't wait to get behind the wheel and this time he hopes to stay away from the barriers.

Rules mean safety in motor sport and when things go wrong,

the track marshal's word is law, even when it means you are out of the race.

For paramedic Paul and his son its back to the pits.

Even in karting every detail is governed by regulations, for a reason.

We have been to events recently where we have been hovering above.

We have been called out and when we've got there they've not actually stopped the racing for us to land.

Obviously the problem is we can't land at an event

with quads and bikes still going round.

As, obviously a big yellow helicopter coming out of the sky

is going to take their concentration

and possibly even cause a bigger accident

than there was in the first place.

This is what can happen when the brakes are taken off enthusiasm.

Helimed 98 has been scrambled to a disused quarry near Doncaster

that has been turned into an off-road bike track.

A young racer has been thrown off his powerful machine.

Yeah, 98 head towards Finningley we will update soon as.

-Did you get that Tim?

-Yeah.

The track is right next to Robin Hood Airport, a busy international hub for holidaymakers.

Pilot Tim is heading straight for its approach path.

I'm just going to slow it down until we know where we're going

because we're messing with big boys' air space at the moment.

Having safely negotiated an international airport,

Tim must now tackle landing in a dusty disused quarry

-and the huge downdraft from Helimed 98 five rotor blades is not helping.

-All clear.

Yeah clear. All clear right rear.

Got the dust cloud coming up.

In motocross it's CCs and torque that matter and teenager Joshua Spinks has fallen off at high speed.

He has landed on his neck and that's potentially very dangerous.

This is Josh. He was coming into this corner at about 15... 20mph.

He lost control of the back end and flipped off and landed on his head.

Paramedics Lee Graham and Paul Bradbury know this track very well.

There are events here every weekend and for youngsters not old enough to drive on the road,

the draw of tackling 30 foot jumps at 40 mph attracts hundreds of bikers.

Just feeling your calves, all right. How's that, does that feel normal?

-That's fine.

-Any different to normal at all?

-No.

-Do you want me to go and get his helmet?

-If you would do.

He's come off his bike at quite a relatively high speed

apparently he's landed straight onto his head.

We are trying to get his helmet to ascertain the damage

and we can sort of work out

what head injury or spinal injury he may have as a result of that.

The nearest hospital that deals with spinal injuries is Sheffield Northern General -

about five or six minutes flying time so we'll be bob him across there,

that's the best place for him to be.

Paramedics across the country are picking up more injured kids

who get their thrills from high-octane sports like motocross.

The team are so worried about Joshua's neck,

they are going to fly him to a specialist spinal centre.

Thankfully they had got first aiders here who were straight on top of it

when it happened and he's had the best possible care.

He had the response guy here certainly within five minutes and we were here a couple of minutes later.

So, he's had everything thrown at him,

hence now we are on the way to Sheffield.

Joshua is a real petrol-head and if he wasn't in so much pain,

a ride helicopter would be even better than his bike.

Joshua's injuries weren't as serious as the team feared

and he was soon released from hospital.

And I am pleased to say all our young patients

are now back on their feet and now raring to go once again.

Now, let's get back to the Yorkshire Wolds

where the team are fighting the weather

in a battle to save a seriously injured driver.

Emergency services are dealing with the aftermath

of a major road crash on a remote road over the Yorkshire Wolds -

a range of hills between York and the east coast.

Paramedics Pat and Sammy are treating Pavel Wolkowski,

a Polish butcher with suspected spinal injuries.

At last the Fire Brigade are getting nearer to Pavel but he is still trapped in his seat.

No blood on chest and groin area - my hands are clean.

Hydraulic rams are being used to force apart the crushed body work of Pavel's car.

It's brute force that needs to be applied carefully if they are not to injure their patient further.

Pat has noticed that Pavel's breathing is shallow on one side of his chest.

Despite his car air bags protecting him, the impact may have punctured a lung.

A surgical procedure here and now is the answer.

We have got a silent chest on one side.

Are you able to do a chest drain? It's not ideal, is it?

-No...

-One, two, three...

Brilliant, that, Sam.

Pavel is free at last.

In less than 20 minutes, he will be in hospital, IF they can make it through the weather.

Pilot Steve used all of his skills to get Helimed 99 to the scene.

Now he faces battling the weather again to get Pavel back to hospital in York 20 miles away.

Helimed 99... We have a 45-year-old male

who has been trapped by the chest, abdomen, pelvis and legs.

He has diminished breath tones to the right hand side of his chest.

Heavy rain was a factor in the accident but the police are taking an interest in this crash.

It could very easily have cost several people their lives.

Helimed 99, just to let you know this patient is critical.

We will give you a shout when we are two minutes out.

The UK's strict air laws make no allowances for medical emergencies.

If the cloud base is too low, Steve will have to land, regardless of Pavel's condition.

The regulations are there to protect the lives of air ambulance crews and their patients.

But it's a decision no-one will take lightly.

With the steering wheel on his chest,

we were unable to get any good observations on him

until the fire brigade

were able to take the dashboard and steering wheel off his chest.

At the moment all his obs are fine.

I'm having difficulty communicating with him as this gentleman has got limited English and he's Polish.

Luckily, the mist lifts long enough for Helimed 99

to slip through the few hundred feet of clear air

between the cloud base and the rolling hills of the Wolds.

Pavel is in a bad way, but intensive care is only minutes away.

Helimed 99, roger, we are now two minutes, two minutes out.

York Hospital is a welcome sight.

Pavel's broken English means Helimed 99's crew are still unable to pin down exactly what is injured.

OK, Pavel.

He later under went a full body scan which revealed he had broken three vertebrae.

He's lucky to be alive, but he is recovering well.

Sadly, Pavel's passenger - flown to hospital by the police - died a few days later.

When Helicopter Heroes comes back, the team face a terrible dilemma.

A trapped farm worker may lose his legs or his life.

He's got his legs stuck in a screw and it's gone under a concrete slab.

A drunk driver is badly injured.

She's got a nasty leg injury and quite a nasty arm injury,

so she's going to be in a lot of pain when we try to move her.

Pilot Steve is in a tight spot as he attempts a dramatic landing.

And a 999 call takes up a lot of time.

The case of a tipsy teenager ties up 40 members of the emergency services.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]