Episode 13 Helicopter Heroes

If you're seriously ill or critically injured up here,

your life is in real danger.

Complaining of severe pain.

Mid 30s, been ejected from a vehicle.

Hospital's an hour away by road and speed is the only thing that can save you.

Roger. Helimed 99's en route to you. Over.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance and its highly trained paramedics are scrambled 1,000 times a year.

"What's happened?"

"A small child's been on the path. A wagon's ran over him."

Many of its ex-military pilots flew the SAS into action.

That's not a suitable landing site. This one here is.

Welcome to the life-and-death world of the Helicopter Heroes.

Today on Helicopter Heroes...

A teenager's fighting for his life

and paramedic James has minutes to save him.

His pupils are going. He's got a bleed on this side.

No helmet, no rope, and this climber's just fallen down a sheer rockface.

I cringe when he does it, but he always does it.

A plane splashes down in a river. But where's the pilot?

Did you see it happen?

You were flying it?

And the accident victim whose crash was caught on camera...

I was wearing my helmet camera, so it'll be on YouTube.

Ask any parent and they'll tell you it's never too early

to teach your child about road safety.

No matter how well they're taught, sometimes a lack of concentration

leads to an accident with lifelong consequences.

On a busy road near York, there's been a serious accident

involving a teenage cyclist out playing with his mates.

Just going to put York Minster down as your IP.

-OK, buddy.

-That'll be where Stamford is, guys.

No worries.

There's some kids come out of that wood,

in front of this bike.

The teenager's condition is critical.

"The child has a head injury.

"Bleeding from the nose. They say he's not breathing normally and he's actually gurgling."

Their patient, Jacob Hardcastle, is 13 years old.

-There's a gap there.

-Yes.

-There's a massive rut there. Can you see it?

-Yes.

OK, to the left.

-All right.

-Yes. Radio's on.

All I know is, there's a kid who got knocked off his pushbike by a motorbike.

Yes. Brilliant. Cheers, mate.

Hiya, lads. How we doing? What have we got?

-This is Jake Hardcastle.

-Hi, sweetheart.

-He's been, erm, erm...

-SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY TRAFFIC

Yep, I'm listening.

Noise everywhere on inspiration.

-He has an airway. He doesn't seem to have any neurological deficits.

-OK.

Paramedic James Vine knows that Jacob's symptoms point to one thing,

a massive and potentially fatal head injury.

-He's got severe bruising that side.

-Great job.

Breathing on his own. Doesn't seem to be any bruising anywhere else.

-We haven't boarded yet.

-Grab your stuff to board. We'll get him to LGI fairly quickly.

Can I have your oxygen, as well, please?

An internal bleed in his head is putting ever increasing pressure onto Jacob's brain.

He's got a big head injury. His pupils are going. He's got a bleed on this side.

All right, matey.

Just hold his legs flat, mate. Get both legs flat for me.

Just keep on top of him for me.

BOY GROANS

All right, Jake? We're going to be OK, mate.

James knows there's nothing the team can realistically do at the roadside.

Jacob's life can only be saved in hospital,

and they need to get him there soon.

Any paramedic will tell you that adrenaline is the hormone

that once helped cavemen outrun sabre-toothed tigers.

But today it's responsible for an awful lot of accidents.

It's what makes many of us seek a challenge that often ends in trouble.

Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales is one of the UK's biggest natural wonders.

This used to be a waterfall, 20 metres higher than Niagara Falls.

Now, the river that created it has dried up,

but the limestone rockface that remains

attracts climbers from all over the world.

Today, Helimed 99's been scrambled to one of Malham's many casualties,

a man who's fallen down a gorge at the side of the cove.

I've just had an update.

Apparently, this guy has estimated to have fallen in excess of 30 metres,

which is obviously a very long fall.

It also causes a problem of access.

I've got Rescue dialled in, mate, on this one.

"Have you got your ears on with them?"

Helimed 99 to Rescue. Are you receiving? Over.

They're down here now, waving down here.

Get them out at three o'clock.

Landing in this outsized landscape presents serious problems for the Helimed pilots.

Where do you want me to put you guys first?

If you could get it there, that's going to be ideal.

Malham has its own microclimate.

Chris must beware not just of rocks

but unpredictable winds and downdrafts, too.

-Still clear.

-OK.

We're off down below.

There's plenty of flat ground to my side and plenty of room.

-If you want to swing the tail round to me, you can.

-It's all right.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

-He's fallen from the top?

-Right.

-Free fall?

-He's hurt.

Hiya, sir. Stay where you are. Don't move at all.

Paramedics Darren and Peter know this is a risky place.

Loose fragments of limestone can fall without warning.

-Were you on this side scrambling up?

-Going up the gulley.

All right. Keep your head still for me.

-What we're going to need to do is pop a collar on you.

-Yes.

-Treat you as though you've got a back injury.

-Yes.

David Greenwood is a veteran climber.

Now in his 60s, he prefers scrambling, the art of climbing without ropes.

The fall has left his leg badly broken.

-Did anybody witness it?

-Adrienne did.

He came down that way up.

-More or less into a standing position?

-And landed on his foot.

-I jarred my back when I fell, but it doesn't feel...

-No.

David's wife, Adrienne, was with him when he fell,

but a passer-by raised the alarm.

He climbed to the top of the cliffs to get a signal.

We were just walking down the paths and there was a guy here who said that, er,

someone had fallen off the cliff, hurt his leg and could I call 999.

-There wasn't a signal here...

-So we had to get as high up as we could to make the call.

We eventually got through after getting to the top here.

Adrienne knows her husband's badly hurt,

but she's putting a brave face on it.

I cringe when he does it, but he always does it.

Sometimes he'll it twice. He said it's very easy.

But today, he had sunglasses on and I think he couldn't see as well.

-Do you want any -

-Can I just ask, while I'm...

..while I'm still... in command of my senses,

I've got a rucksack there that my wife might have trouble...

We'll sort that out.

We're not like Ryanair, we don't charge for excess baggage!

David's accurately diagnosed his broken leg,

but he's lucky to be alive after such a long fall.

This rockface is more than 100ft high.

-Bear with me.

-Keep going, mate, on that gas.

-Breathe deep.

-Keep going.

Ooh, lovely.

Pete and Darren know the chances of their patient surviving the plunge

without suffering a further serious injury are remote.

We're going to do a top-to-bottom check of him now

to make sure he's not hurt anything else.

Sometimes, the pain from an injury will mask another one.

But we're going to treat for the worst and immobilise him

before we try to move him away from here.

The Helimed team won't relax until they've flown David to hospital and seen the X-rays.

But pilot Chris has concerns of his own.

Landing here was difficult enough.

Taking off with a patient on board will be even more fraught with risk.

The Helimed pilots all had to start somewhere,

and for some, it was the cockpit of a light aircraft.

It's a great way to learn how to fly,

but you mustn't forget that no form of flying is completely safe.

In the skies over East Yorkshire,

an amateur pilot puts his plane through its paces.

But this aerobatics display, filmed by a friend,

has a disastrous unseen ending.

He says that an aircraft's gone into a river

in the general area of Breighton,

which is just near a little airstrip out there.

There's no time to waste. The plane's gone down in a rural area,

close to a strip used by weekend pilots.

Helimed 99 will be there in ten minutes.

South Control. Helimed 99. Over.

We are through to an air crash near the Selby area.

You could be the first on the scene. The aircraft's gone down.

Light planes don't float for long. The occupants are in real danger.

The local police chopper's already searching, with no result so far.

Just arriving on the scene. We'll update you as soon as we can.

There's no sign of a wrecked plane,

but two soaking-wet people standing on the riverbank may be able to help.

-Did you see it happen?

-I was flying it.

-You were flying it?

-Yes.

They turn out to know all about it.

-Was anybody else in it?

-No.

-Just you two?

-Just us.

-And you're OK?

-I'm cold.

-Nobody else in the aircraft?

-No. The aircraft's here.

Are you hurt at all?

-No, we managed to get out.

-You're just cold.

Come over to the aircraft and we'll get you wrapped up.

Nobody in. Just these two.

They had an extraordinary escape.

They'd hired the plane from a flying club at nearby Sherburn in Elmet.

There's an aircraft in the area that's looking for this one.

We've passed the information on, the registration,

what type it is, it's in the river, and both occupants are safe.

The good news is already being relayed back to base by the police.

"The air ambulance is on the ground. It looks like there are two casualties.

"The aircraft is fully submerged."

After landing on the water, the pilot and his passenger managed to swim to the bank.

They're very cold and wet. So is their £70,000 plane.

We had engine failure. I tried to restart the engine and I couldn't.

I tried once or twice and I knew that there was no...

And then I switched everything off

and we managed to swim. We were OK.

Only the cold can harm pilot and passenger now.

Night will soon fall.

The team's survival tent, normally used in mountain rescue incidents,

will allow them to change into dry clothing.

It's just a fleece. Pull it over your head.

-How are you there? Are you warm?

-Not yet.

-Not yet. OK.

The pilot's done a good job,

but the team's baffled about his choice of landing strip.

The River Derwent's surrounded by flat fields.

I was scared, but there was no option.

I thought I would manage to land over there.

It was too fast.

I aimed it at the field, but I couldn't.

The emergency services have turned out in force, including an RAF rescue helicopter.

No-can believe that everyone's escaped unhurt.

The police are using a heat-seeking camera

to look for anyone else in the river.

"I'll give you an update as soon as.

"We're just taking photographs. We've got the Sea King next to us.

"I'll update you as soon as I can."

The fire brigade are equally bemused,

but they're worried leaking fuel from the aircraft could pose a danger.

There must've been a delayed submersion of the aircraft, enough to enable him to get out.

Or perhaps he hit the bank and then slid in,

presuming they were making for the comparatively flat area on this side of the river.

They've had quite a scare with what's happened.

They've done well to get out. It has flipped over.

The lady says she's probably taken in a bit of water.

But once we get them warmed up, they should be fine.

The ambulance is quite a distance away, so the intention is for us

to fly them down to wherever it is and get them checked over.

Pilot and passenger will still need a hospital check-up,

but after treatment for minor hypothermia,

they'll be on their way home.

Confirm, the aircraft's conveyed the patients.

I'm still on scene. One paramedic's gone with the patients and I'm left on scene. Over.

The crash site is so remote,

the local bobby has to be given a lift by the force helicopter.

There'll be a full inquiry into the crash,

and government investigators are going to want to see the plane.

And when the plane is finally lifted out of the river,

it's easy to see how lucky its occupants have been.

Despite appearances,

water can tear aircraft apart in a high-speed impact.

But the damage is minor. It looks like the plane could fly again tomorrow

But the damage to its electronics is likely to mean a very long,

very expensive rebuild.

The accident, and the occupants' escape,

is the talk of Leeds Bradford Airport.

And today, the man who knows all about it is visiting.

Pilot Sipan Osman wants to thank his rescuers.

-The pilot said that this was twin engine.

-Yes.

-So not to be scared!

He is a training to be a commercial airline pilot.

My dream since I was a child, it's always been my dream to fly.

You aim for something, you will end up doing it.

I worked hard to be a pilot. I've studied, I did everything.

Before the crash,

Sipan's aerobatics display was being filmed by a friend.

But his rolls and loops made his passenger feel sick,

so he started practicing forced landings.

That's when it all went wrong.

Doing the climb-out, I had engine failure.

I tried to restart the engine, I couldn't.

And then I... There was a field next to the river.

I aim it for that field, but I was too high.

I applied full flap, but still I was too high,

so I aim it for the field next to it, to overshoot,

but I couldn't make it, it was too low.

Then I ditched into the river.

Sipan is very grateful to his fellow aviators at the air ambulance.

We were lucky to open the canopy.

If the canopy, for any reason, was stuck or we couldn't open it,

then definitely we'd be dead.

He believes that without their help,

his dream of becoming a professional pilot could've been over.

I want to tell them thank you very much. If it wasn't for them, maybe we were going to be dead.

I mean, we caught cold and we had hypothermia because we were in the water.

So, yes, they were really helpful. I would like to thank them. They are doing great job.

There is no other word that I can express my thankful,

my gratefulness to them.

And despite his unhappy landing,

Sipan is determined one day to captain an airliner.

His experience, he says, has made him a better pilot.

Now, let's return to that accident near York

where 13-year-old cyclist Jacob has been left fighting for his life.

The teenager was out cycling with his mates

when he rode straight onto the road and into the path of a motorbike.

The child went flying in the air.

The motorcycle guy hit the kerb and came flying off and his bike is over there.

-Has he been like this since your arrival?

-Yes.

BOYS MOANS

-What's his pupils doing?

-We've not been able to open them.

No worries, sweetheart.

Jacob wasn't wearing a cycling helmet.

-He got a big head, hasn't he?

-Yes.

-His pupils are going this way.

The impact of his head hitting the ground

has caused bleeding inside his brain.

I think we'll just look to get oxygen, get him boarded and get him to Leeds.

Paramedic James knows that the pressure building from the bleed can only be released by surgery.

-Where's he going?

-He's going to be going to LGI.

He needs to get to theatre. BOY GROANS

Jacob is going to be taken to head injury specialists at the Leeds General Infirmary.

Paramedic Lee's telling them what to expect.

We're coming straight to you.

ETA, about 15 minutes we'll be down into the department.

Ready, steady, right.

BOY MOANS LOUDLY

Don't worry, don't worry.

Jacob's agitation is another symptom of his head injury.

He's confused because pressure is building inside his skull.

Soon, the parts of the brain that control his breathing and heart beat will be affected.

-OK, up towards you.

-Ready, steady.

BOY MOANS LOUDLY

-Yes...

-All right, Jake. Just open your eyes, mate.

That's lovely.

Jacob's blood pressure is low and dropping.

They must get him to surgery soon.

Any delay could threaten his survival.

Just let them know he's going to need putting to sleep fairly quickly.

OK, two, four, seven, heading.

I passed it. Had he been struck from behind?

-Is that correct?

-Yes.

-From the side.

-From the side. With no helmet, had he?

Did you get an estimated speed on the bike? What's that road? Is it national?

Yes, it's a fast road. It's national speed limit.

The crew are growing increasingly concerned about their patient's condition.

His blood pressure has dropped again and his pulse has all but disappeared.

-Jacob is critically ill.

-When you're ready.

There's no blood pressure, no matter what I've done.

No blood pressure.

Paramedics are trained to relay the vital information

that helps doctors rapidly assess newly arrived patients.

Despite his concerns, James's briefing is textbook.

OK, this is Jake, 13-year-old cyclist.

He's gone straight across a road, been hit by a motorcyclist, query speed.

He's got a frontal contusion on his head, trachea central.

Equal air entry, bilaterally in his chest. Abdomen's soft, non-tender, pelvis is stable.

No long-bone deformities.

Vital sign-wise, he's been bradycardic at 50 with us since arrival.

I've struggled to get a systolic above 80, despite a litre of normal saline.

Last eaten at 9am this morning.

-We think it's an isolated head injury?

-As far as we can see. He's got a fixed gaze to his left.

The Helimed team have done as much as they can.

Whether Jacob's survives is now out of their hands.

Coming up on Helicopter Heroes...

Surgeons operate, and Jacob's dad gets the call every parent dreads.

You immediately think the worst.

Remember David, the climber who survived a fall down a ravine in North Yorkshire?

It looks like he's had a very lucky escape.

But the Helimed team aren't leaving anything to chance.

The rockfaces of North Yorkshire are among the UK's safest,

especially when climbers are well equipped.

But some veterans of the rocks prefer to take on the terrain unprotected.

Today, that could've cost David Greenwood his life.

David's leg is broken, and paramedics, Darren and Pete,

fear the injury may have damaged blood vessels supplying his right foot.

It's just pink.

There is one worry it's thready, but if we have to traction it

to get it into the splint,

the likelihood is, it'll reduce.

The pulse in it was quite thready.

But we have a high suspicion of his injuries because of the distance.

David's fallen over 50 feet down a gorge near Malham.

He had no helmet and he wasn't using a rope.

Take a good few deep breaths on that

because I'm going to have to pull your foot a little bit to get it into this splint.

-Put it under, mate.

-That's the best I can do on that, mate.

-Yep.

Right. Keep going, David. You just keep breathing it.

For the local mountain rescue team, this is a familiar story.

This rugged landscape attracts extreme-sports fans, but the risks can be high.

It's really decent weather, a good spell of dry weather, but it can be very misty.

We had an aeroplane that came down a few weeks ago in the mist

and they survived,

found by one of our dog handlers.

Another successful rescue mission. We aim to please!

Right, people, if we can get position, ready to lift.

-David's pain is under control, thanks to a dose of morphine.

-I'll get the back ready.

Now Darren and Pete are keen to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.

Watch your footing. It drops off quite steeply now.

But pilot Chris won't be hurrying this take-off.

Helimed 99 is in a deep gully.

Winds behave unpredictably in a landscape like this

and the chopper is vulnerable to any sudden downdraft.

We've got to lift up,

try and keep as much weight off the stretcher as we can as we feed in.

But at last, Helimed 99 is clear of the rocks.

Not the recommended departure!

-Works by me!

-I like it.

It's like going down the tunnel run on Star Wars.

David's now just ten minutes from the scanners and X-ray machines of Blackburn Hospital.

Doctors are already on standby to examine him.

The odds of him having escaped from such a long fall with just a broken leg are slim.

But a few days later, David's sitting up in bed, having beaten those odds.

I thought, "I'm at the top now,"

and I just took a step that wasn't as safe as it should've been,

but I shouldn't have taken it at that point.

I can't believe that I've escaped.

At the time, your life doesn't flash in front of you,

you just fall and that's all that happens.

You think, "Any second now, it'll go 'bang' and I'll hit the ground."

Because you're just bouncing from rock to rock,

just hoping that you're going to come to a reasonably safe landing,

which, in the circumstances, I think I did.

I didn't touch my head. Not a scratch on my head.

I bashed my legs, arms

and, of course, broke my right ankle.

I've had it pinned and plated.

I've bashed all over the place up,

but that's the only injury that requires any attention.

Despite his lucky escape,

David has no intention of staying away from the Yorkshire crags. It's been a lifelong hobby.

And despite the fact that climbing with ropes is safer,

he also plans to keep alive the skills of scrambling -

climbing, unprotected, up smaller rockfaces.

I don't regret scrambling. I've enjoyed it for so many years.

But I regret that moment of carelessness

and think that it could've cost me a lot more than a pinned leg.

Having a camera on your phone means you can snap away or film whatever you're up to.

For an increasing number of the Helimed team's patients,

that means their accidents are actually caught on camera.

And this is the shot you get from a small camera

on the top of a motocross rider's helmet.

The rider is 21-year-old Joe Golding.

He's been doing this since he was three.

But it doesn't stop him coming off.

Unhurt and undeterred, Joe gets back on.

He's testing out a brand-new bike and pushing it to the very limit,

and then a bit further.

This time he's not going to get up.

Helimed 98 is on the short hop from Sheffield to the motocross track,

which is on an old mining site just south of Doncaster.

Reports are initially, someone's come off their bike.

He's got chest injuries and severe difficulty breathing.

There's an ambulance service responder on the way, as well.

He's within a controlled environment,

but by the nature of motocross,

there's always going to be accidents.

He's gone head-first over his bike.

He has pain middle to the top of his back. He's quite tender down the sternum.

He's also some swelling and bruising here.

-How bad's the pain?

-Down his back.

-All right. Your back hurts?

Joe is used to coming off bikes.

Although he's only 21, he's been riding competitively since he was six.

-He knows he's hurt.

-It hurts to breathe.

-Because it's causing you pain?

-Yes.

-In your back or your chest?

-Both.

The morphine should stop the pain, but the downside is,

it makes Pete's job of diagnosing Joe's injuries more difficult.

There we are, mate.

The pain in your back, can you identify where it is?

-Top middle. It hurts more because I'm laying on it.

-Does it?

But it's in the middle. It feels like the middle?

-He weren't half as bad when he was sitting up.

-All right.

Joe thinks lying flat-out on a rigid spinal board

is making things worse for him.

Paramedic Pete is taking no chances.

I want to sit up.

Because of what's happened, even though you've been up and walking about,

it doesn't rule out that you've injured your back, hence the board.

-Can I sit up straight?

-No.

-That's what you need to be on.

-Can I have a cushion?

-The idea is to keep you laid flat.

Joe's day is getting worse. He's not even going to get a trip in the helicopter.

Where we are, we're very near to Doncaster Royal,

so it's quicker and a lot easier if he travels in by land crew.

We've just come to see if we can assist the paramedic in any way.

Despite the pain that we know is coming when Joe doesn't make this landing,

he's keen to share the whole experience with his motocross mates

by getting this film online as soon as possible.

I went straight over the bike, onto my head.

I was wearing my helmet camera, so it'll be on YouTube.

It'll be a good bit of footage.

I was going all right until that happened. Ow.

Joe's day of testing out the new bike is over.

In fact, his riding's over for quite a while.

He's having to take it easy at home,

with plenty of time on his hands to watch himself break a few ribs, sever some nerves

and smash his wrist up, over and over again.

Probably I was going maybe over 40 when I hit this jump. It's not a very big jump.

I made a stupid mistake and that's what happened.

I took off the front wheel, dived underneath me

and I went straight over the handlebars in mid-air.

The first thing I put out was my wrist, as you do. My legs were still on the bike.

And then it just pummelled me into the ground and broke everything else.

I broke my neck brace, as well.

I was glad I was wearing that or I think it would've been a lot worse.

Joe's stuntman camerawork has been an internet hit.

He has nearly 2,000 online fans.

Now, lots of proud parents take home movies of their children doing their favourite sport.

But sometimes that means a nasty accident

ends up being captured on film.

-This is 15-year-old Leigh Walker, being filmed by her mum.

-MUM: Ooh!

The fall is serious.

Leigh is knocked unconscious and begins to suffer a fit.

The fitting can imply there's been some serious injury to the head.

It's not a good sign if someone's fitting post-head trauma.

Ideally, they need to be in a neuro centre.

It's looking clear left.

It's pilot Tim's job to get Kate and paramedic Pete Vallance safely into a field full of horses,

surrounded by wires and on a steep slope.

-No horses on your side, is there?

-Just one, but they're under control.

Hey, there. Hi.

Leigh. She's come off. Initially reported fitting. She's very agitated.

All right, we'll get a collar on her. OK.

Leigh was riding in a junior hunt event.

Safety marshals were on hand immediately.

Her face was blue and her lips were blue.

There wasn't any response, but she was breathing.

She is all the signs of a head injury - confused and drowsy -

but when she gets some oxygen, the effect is instantaneous.

Just leave it off. We just need to get it near her.

-Hi, Leigh!

-BACKGROUND CHATTER

Leigh may have come round a bit, but that's now created another problem.

She is fiercely resisting all the paramedics' attempt to help her.

-Leigh, are you all right, duck?

-She's not normally like this.

It's a classic sign of a head injury.

I thought she was going to convulse, but I think it was just a fit.

And her eyes, when she did eventually turn over, she resisted any help.

She's not going to be secured on the longboard, as we would ideally like to have her on.

We need to take you to hospital and make sure you're all right.

-She keeps going into a sleep.

-Yes.

Because we're not far from Sheffield's Children's Hospital,

we'll get her on board, get her as relaxed as we can.

That way, she's not going to be flailing so much.

Ideally, we would like to get her onto this board, but we're not going to allow that,

We'll bring our stretcher down, pop her onto that and keep her as relaxed as we can.

The more we try and restrain her, the more she'll fight against us.

Leigh was kept in overnight for observation,

but home the next day with a diagnosis of concussion.

She doesn't remember much about her accident,

but thanks to her mum's filming, she will always have this reminder.

MUM: Ooh!

Leigh's back riding now.

I'm not sure our next patient caught on camera

will be repeating his gravity-defying stunt.

Adam Knowles and his mate couldn't resist taking on the local skate park on two wheels.

But their snaps, captured on a mobile phone,

were followed by this unexpected picture -

the Helimed team arriving to treat Adam's broken ankle.

When he got up, he was laughing, until he looked at his foot and realised it was facing backwards.

-Ay-up, chief. How we doing?

-How're you?

-Not three bad.

-What you been up to?

-I keep thinking I'm 18 and I'm not!

Are you not? We don't break like 18 year olds any more!

-He's repositioned his foot himself. I think that's just a graze.

-Cool.

-I didn't want to try and put it in this.

-No worries.

Adam's shattered his ankle.

He wanted a picture for his Facebook profile.

I was laid on the floor with the camera,

he comes flying over the ramp, front wheel in the air.

He goes down to his side, puts his foot down and it snaps.

Leg's facing the wrong way. He bent it back as quick as he could then more or less started crying.

He just managed to hold the tears back!

-Did you get the photo?

-Yes. It'll be up later on Facebook.

A ride in the skate park seemed a good idea at the time.

We were going on a normal bike ride

and we came past here and he wanted a few jumps before we carried on.

So it cut our day short. And here we are!

He's remarkably calm about his injury,

but needles are a different thing.

We're just going to put a tube into your vein so we can give you some strong painkillers.

I don't need any. I don't like that sort of thing.

It's going to need an operation, unfortunately, so you're going to need one at some stage.

-Will do.

-All right?

This case is minor by the Helimed team's standards,

but the gates to the park are locked

and the ground paramedics know that a chopper was the best way to get their patient to hospital.

Thanks to his mate Ian's camera phone,

pictures of Adam's break are on their way to his friends and family.

You're not going to leave me? You're texting like you're going somewhere.

-Just letting everyone know what's happened.

-That's all right, then.

Adam's mate doesn't let a little pain get in the way of his souvenir snapshots.

The whole rescue is captured on film.

Just a call, in case you hear the aircraft and think it's something big, it's only us.

The photography doesn't stop at the doors of Barnsley Hospital.

He goes on to record the aftermath of major surgery to Adam's leg.

BOY: If it comes to it, I'll just hit it!

A few weeks later and Adam's back at the skate park,

not on a BMX bike, but on crutches,

and beginning to regret the cycle posing that led to his rescue.

When I took off, off the jump,

I realised that it was maybe a bit beyond my capabilities.

I fell on the floor and heard my leg crunch, sort of thing.

I looked down to my foot and my foot was actually facing the wrong way.

I thought the best thing to do would be

to put my foot back to its natural position.

When I pulled my foot round to its natural position,

it made crunching noises and what have you.

Adam's DIY foot straightening, although not recommended,

did at least put things the right way round

for the surgeons to do a proper job.

Basically, there's a bone that's broken on the back

and there's a bone down here that's really badly broken.

What they've had to do is,

put a pin straight through this bone at the back, into this one at the front,

to hopefully save this bone in my foot so that I can walk again.

I think I've got the equivalent of a small BMW 1 Series in my foot!

It'll make airport trips fun, anyway.

And as for photographer Ian,

he has no regrets about these photos.

After all, it was all Adam's idea.

Adam wanted a few pictures, anyway,

so I literally used his phone to take pictures.

He seemed quite under control with his pain.

He didn't seem like he was panicking,

so it made me think everything was going to be OK.

The patients whose accident were caught on camera...

Now, let's catch up with Jacob,

the teenager involved in a crash with a motorbike near York.

Half an hour ago, Jacob was cycling with his mates.

Now he's in the hands of the Trauma Team at the Leeds General Infirmary.

Paramedic James knows that precious minutes saved

can mean the difference between life and death.

He's just been put to sleep in the resuscitation room now

and they're taking him for a CT scan.

But it's fairly evident he's got a significant head injury

and very possibly a spinal injury, as well.

After being assessed, Jacob was taken to the operating theatre.

Neurosurgeons had to stop the pressure building in his brain

by stemming four separate bleeds in his head.

The operations took several hours.

Jacob's mother and father were called to the hospital.

All I'd got was, "Get here as quick as you can,"

which you obviously immediately think the worst. It's awful.

You walk into this really busy room and there's nurses, cables,

everything imaginable fastened to him.

His head's fastened between two great big blocks, he's taped down.

They said, "Talk to him."

By this point, you're in tears, you're absolutely cracked up.

If I'd have spoke to him, he wouldn't have realised it was me.

It doesn't look like your own son because there's that much on him.

It's awful. It really is.

The surgeons' successful intervention came just in time.

Jacob is making slow progress.

Mum.

His brain is beginning to recover.

He can't talk clearly and he's confused...

I know you're feeling really dizzy.

..but all his dad cares about is the fact that his son's alive.

We'll have you home as soon as we can.

All right?

Don't get upset.

You'll set me off if you start. You know that, don't you?

You get the initial call and you think, "This sort of thing doesn't happen to me."

As soon as you hear, "He's got head injuries

"and there's shadows on his brain," and things like that,

it's just... you just think the worst.

You just think, "Is he going to come through?"

I've heard since that he was in a very bad way in the helicopter, from what I've been told.

He was too close, really, for me. Too close.

Three weeks later, back home in the village of Stamford Bridge,

Jacob's still not fit to use his trampoline,

but he has made a remarkable recovery.

I thought at one point, "He's just going to put his foot through that wall."

He's talking to his mates and improving everyday.

I could remember more stuff, like who people were

and... what I did yesterday and the day before.

It's just improving each day.

Friends Will and Joe helped save Jacob's life

by showing a presence of mind that wouldn't have shamed an adult.

The motorbike tried to swerve and then hit his front wheel

and Jake flew off his bike and hit the ground.

-JAKE GROANS

-I was just in shock.

I thought, "There's no point me getting worked up about it"

because then other people would get worked up.

So I just had to get on with it and do what I could.

When I got my phone out and called 999,

I went over and he was unconscious, so he wasn't speaking to me.

It was really upsetting because he's one of my best friends

and you don't like to see your friends in pain.

Despite having his mates to cheer him up,

Jacob's still finding recovery feels like a slow process.

I can't do as much as I used to do.

I can't ride my scooter, I can't go on the trampoline,

I can't do much really.

I was just struggling,

trying to cope with two broken collarbones.

My hand, as well, which is pretty scarred.

Jacob's relatively rapid recovery has amazed many of his doctors

and all of the Helimed paramedics.

For a boy some didn't expect to survive,

he's looking pretty healthy.

I mainly have to say thanks to the air ambulance,

as they got me to Leeds really quickly

and got me to h-hospital really quickly,

and I'd like to thank them for that.

And Jacob's looking forward to getting a new bike,

but he promises he's going to be wearing a helmet.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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