Episode 22 Helicopter Heroes

If you're critically ill or seriously injured, seconds count.

And in Britain's biggest county, you can be a long way from help.

Where's the patient?

Stuck under the car!

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance flies at 150 mph, and thanks to its speed,

hundreds of patients are alive today,

saved by a highly-skilled team of doctors and paramedics.

-Stand clear, everybody.

-Keep going, mate!

It covers some of the UK's most rugged landscapes,

turning roadsides into operating theatres...

We're going to give an emergency anaesthetic, OK?

..and town centres into helipads.

Just behind you, Tim.

And every day, the Helimed team's skill,

speed and courage is saving lives.

Today on Helicopter Heroes, a motor race on the M1 ends

in a terrible crash and a passenger is fighting for his life.

I was concerned he was going to die while I was waiting for them to get here.

High in the Dales, a pet proves he is man's best friend.

I heard the dog barking like crazy, thinking, "What's happened?"

It was the dog telling me he'd fallen.

The team meets the pilot who carried out this unhappy landing.

We lost our power, and smoke started coming out.

And winter puts the skids under a moorland farmer.

The road just turned into just sheet glass.

It's a fact that Britain's fastest roads are actually the safest.

Statistically,

you're far less likely to have an accident on a motorway than

any other road and if you do, you're less likely to be seriously hurt.

But on some routes,

there's a secret menace few motorists ever come across -

illegal road-racing.

And today, the crew of Helimed 99 is about to come

face to face with its consequences.

Two casualties, one of which has been reported as having

decreased level of consciousness.

And so obviously, there'll be concerns about how quickly

we can get that casualty out and get them on their way to hospital.

It's a car, mate. That's it.

-Yeah, I wouldn't like to be in that position.

-No, it's not good, is it?

Trapped inside the wreckage of this car are two young men.

One is critically injured but his friend is also trapped

and preventing emergency services reaching him.

If we get a casualty sheet under him and try and slide him,

it's just that guy's underneath him. What's this guy like on top?

He's conscious. We could do with getting him out.

If we can get that sheet in, we can get him moved.

Are you happy with the head there?

The accident happened on a busy stretch of the M1 towards

the end of rush hour.

Witnesses have told police that the car was one of a group

driving at very high speed and apparently racing with each other.

The victims have been lucky.

They've had medical help from just seconds after the impact.

This is Dave Smith, who is a doctor. He was passing by.

One of the team's patients is aggressive,

but his friend is unconscious

and attention is now focused on a desperate race to free him.

This is going to be ours.

We've not had a chance to look at anything else.

This guy's got to come out quicker to get to ours.

A clearer picture of the accident is now emerging.

The crash involved a group of friends,

most in high-powered hire cars.

A passing doctor almost certainly saved the life of the man

in this car by holding his head and keeping his airway open.

Can somebody just help Jane there, so that's not going to impact on her?

Now, at last, he can leave his patient to the paramedics.

We'll get that safe when we go.

I saw a nurse who was tending to the first victim who

was on top of the victim underneath, and I went into the car just

to support his airway and just to make him...breathing OK.

Well, I was concerned he was going to die while I was waiting for them to get here.

Flying doctor Andy Pountney has been scrambled to help treat the casualties.

The one that Pete's looking at is the priority one.

-OK.

-And then there's another one on the side.

This one's a problem. Won't tolerate an airway but has taken a nasal.

He's the worst one.

Dr Andy often flies with the Helimed team and today

he intends turning the fast lane of the M1 into an operating theatre.

He wants to anaesthetise the most serious patient.

But first, both casualties must be removed from the car.

Right, move!

Oh.

They finally free the first patient, but the second man is still trapped.

They'll be losing that.

He's breathing now,

he's got a nasal airway in but his breathing is becoming more laboured.

Come on.

We can't collar in the position he's in.

We'll get him out and we'll look at it then.

The man has a serious head injury,

and pressure is building up inside his skull.

If it's not released, it will kill him.

By knocking him out,

Andy will vastly increase his chance of survival.

Just confirm that it will remain available to us, over.

Paramedic Darren Axe has helped with this procedure before,

but it's never routine.

We'll talk through what we're going to do.

We're going to put him off to sleep with an emergency anaesthetic, OK?

It's a potentially dangerous procedure,

so we need a bit of quiet while we try and do it.

What we'll do in a second, I'll allocate some roles.

We'll then give the drugs. When the drugs start working,

he'll start twitching, he'll then stop twitching.

When he stops twitching, we'll have a look at his airway

and see what we can do. Once we're in, keep your inline stabilisation... Is everybody happy?

OK, it's 19:37. Let's give some drugs, please.

Once the man is unconscious,

the vital airway to his lungs will be replaced by a tube.

Drugs will stop him breathing

and his rescuers will take this over for him.

-Happy with that? Do you want the time?

-Yes, please. What's the time?

OK, if we're happy, shall we start moving towards the aircraft?

Pilot Tim has only 20 minutes of daylight left.

After that, Helimed 99 must be on the ground by law.

-All right in the back?

-Yeah, sorry, mate.

And I'm locked in tight.

Agreed. Engine control switches and we are clear.

HELICOPTER RADIO

Lifesaving drugs are being dripped into the man's

bloodstream in midair.

OK, chaps. We've got four minutes to run.

The Helimed team is still trying to understand the events that

led to the collision.

So what happened to the other car? Were they fine?

-What? The black Astra?

-Yeah.

-Walked away, mate.

-Everyone's fine, apart from this lad.

Is he the driver?

No, passenger.

Five minutes after lifting off from the M1,

their patient is moments away from specialist treatment.

Helimed 99, Yorkshire, approaching LGI.

Received, thank you.

That night, surgeons at the Leeds General Infirmary operate.

But the man later succumbed to his injuries.

It's a year later that the full story of the 90 mph race that

killed him is finally told in court,

thanks to a painstaking police investigation.

There were actually five cars.

They started off in Sheffield intending to celebrate Eid.

The vehicles had been racing,

taking different directions of the lanes, inside, outside.

The tragic end to the celebration that they set off on that day

cannot be underestimated, undertaking and overtaking innocent members of

the public, thinking that it's a game

and has just resulted in the death of one of their friends.

Three men are jailed for up to four years for causing

death by dangerous driving.

And four more receive lesser penalties on more minor charges.

Tourism's big business in the Yorkshire Dales, but making a living

from holidaymakers isn't easy, so keeping costs down is vital,

which means DIY is a way of life for many businesses.

Helimed 99's heading up to the Three Peaks where Yorkshire's fells

soar to well over 2,000 feet.

Nine million visitors a year come to the Yorkshire Dales.

And the team's heading for one of hundreds of farmhouse B&Bs

catering for holidaymakers.

We'd finished breakfast and he had to get out and come

and paint the garage before the rain comes down.

And I was cleaning the showers

when I heard the dog barking like crazy, thinking, "What's happened?"

It was the dog telling me he'd fallen.

DOG BARKS

Thanks to the family Jack Russell, John Elphinstone is in good hands.

Local paramedics were by his side within minutes.

-What does his pelvis look like?

-His pelvis, I think, is OK.

It's just above his knee and around that area.

We could try and get a splint off, but what we've done is

because he's got his knee quite bent and he's wanting to hold it,

we've not been able to get it flat, so we've kept

it in a comfortable position, but he's had 15 of morphine so far.

Right.

John was painting the garage when he slipped and fell 15 feet,

shattering his thigh bone. He's in severe pain.

He's complaining of some pain in his ankle,

but I can't find anything obvious.

But he's had previous ankle injuries in the past, but I think it's

possibly he's landed on his feet and then gone over.

-John?

-There we go.

-Yeah.

-I just want to have another look at your leg.

I know they've packed it all like this.

We've left it so you can see it actually.

-If we just unravel, we can see.

-Oh, it's this leg.

-Yes.

-You can see where it's very...

-Just above the knee.

-Yes.

I don't feel anything, the ankle doesn't feel as if...

That feels better, now we've moved you.

Paramedic Graham Pemberton knows straightening John's leg is vital.

It reduces the risk of further bleeding inside his leg.

We've got a traction splint which will pull it

and keep it straight and keep it under traction.

Whilst we do it, it'll probably sting a bit and hurt, OK?

But once we've got it straight, the pain will ease.

The other thing is that whilst you're like this, it'll be bleeding inside

and the muscles will go into spasm, which will make it a lot worse.

63-year-old John fell onto unforgiving cobbles.

His wife Diane is a radiographer.

She doesn't need an X-ray to know her husband's badly hurt.

Keep it still. You're OK. Well done.

-HE GROANS

-Just keep it still. Well done.

It looks like he's got a right mid-shaft femur fracture.

Obviously, he didn't want to bend the leg, but for long-term benefit,

the idea is to use a traction splint to straighten that leg.

It also helps massively with pain relief, as well.

-Well done.

-That's the worst of it...he says.

-He says.

-He says.

With a smile on his face.

-Yeah. OK?

-Yeah.

You see it all day, I suppose.

John, does that feel better now it's a bit straighter?

HE GROANS

Less painful?

It's...sort of...a bit of an ache.

-A bit of an ache?

-Well, it will.

-OK.

The couple's home is remote.

That's what makes it so popular with tourists.

Diane faces a long drive to the nearest trauma unit in Preston.

John will be going by air.

Turn. OK, come on then.

As well as his dog, John has good reason

to be grateful to the local paramedics

who arrived at his remote home so quickly.

999 responses are not always so speedy in the Three Peaks.

How are you doing? Good? Good lad.

You've been a marvellous patient.

We move crews about and up and down the valley.

I tend to move up and down the valley as well in a response car.

So usually we can be on the scene pretty quickly.

But there are times when we do need help.

We do our best. We're a long way from nowhere sometimes,

but you guys come in handy.

-Very handy.

-Very handy.

-Yeah, definitely.

Paramedic Graham will be carefully monitoring his patient's condition.

John's simply frustrated

he's missing the aerial views of the Three Peaks.

The trouble with this is...

I won't be able to see the view.

No, you won't.

How did you end up in not-sunny Preston?

Now, a world away from the Dales

in the centre of one of Lancashire's biggest towns,

John is about to find out the extent of the damage to his leg.

Doctors at Preston Royal X-ray and scan his leg.

The news isn't good.

It's a broken thigh bone just above the knee.

in six pieces.

The surgeon did say that I might have to have a replacement knee

in a few years' time.

But...we'll see.

Back home at the B&B, Diane's left to handle the catering alone

with the hero of the hour, Jack.

John was painting the garage, he was getting the undercoat on

ready to put the topcoat on in the rest of the day

and I was actually not just cleaning the showers, redoing the grouting.

I couldn't hear John shouting for me

because of the extractor fan in the shower.

HE BARKS

It was only when I kept hearing Jack barking and I thought,

"I bet John's not on that ladder. I bet he's on the computer."

HE BARKS

I looked out of the window and my heart just sank

when I saw him lying on the ground.

And came downstairs to the kitchen where Jack was going mad

and trying to tell me to get out and find John.

Sadly, despite surgery to rebuild his knee,

it's going to be some time before John is fit enough

to take Jack for a long walk again.

But this dog really is his owner's best friend.

Jack's a lovely dog.

He's got a lovely, easy, friendly personality.

He is our guard dog.

He barks at everybody, but he's got absolutely no bite.

And his one interest in life is rabbits.

Every year, nine million people visit the Yorkshire Dales.

Some come for a scenic drive and to visit a tearoom,

others are looking for a more strenuous day out.

But some parts of the National Park are strictly off limits

to all but the brave or the foolish.

Yorkshire's rock faces are a playground for climbers.

They're difficult and not to be taken lightly.

DISPATCHER: "Yorkshire Air to Helimed 99."

"The patient is partway down the face of a rock."

Today, Helimed 99 has been scrambled

to a rocky hillside near Skipton in the Dales.

Someone has fallen near two follies called the Salt and Pepper Pots.

Darren Axe knows it's going to be a difficult rescue.

Can you just confirm that the fell rescue's been alerted to this?

We've been to this area before and it's at the bottom of the cliff.

The ground is so steep that runs away from it,

we've absolutely no chance of getting anywhere near it, over.

DISPATCHER: "Wharfedale Mountain Rescue

"have already been contacted and are en route."

The casualty is halfway down the rock face.

It's a tricky landing for pilot Mark Griffiths,

but there's a ledge that's just wide enough.

-Over there, look, about two o'clock?

-Yeah.

-Close to the top.

-I've got the ambulance.

-Ambulance is there, yeah.

Can you get onto where that is?

Um...it doesn't look too bad, does it?

There's somebody in the way at the moment.

-Yeah.

-I think she's moving them now.

-Good?

-Clear left. Clear right rear, clear left.

All clear right.

Six inches, my side. Good.

-OK.

-Lovely.

-Great stuff.

Local paramedics were astonished

to find the latest victim of the rock face

was not a climber, but a young mum in trainers.

Has she got any climbing gear or is she just...?

-No.

-I'm all right.

But the faller is no mountaineer.

Carer Sophie Hodgkinson was climbing down the rocks with her friend

and two-year-old daughter when she slipped.

Her ankle is broken.

-Need anything?

-You what, mate?

-Need help?

-No.

She's taking Entonox and seems quite happy and giggly.

I'm going to be on TV, pal!

There's no easy way down.

Darren and colleague Daryl Cullen must improvise.

-I've got you. Right, wait, wait, wait.

-Wait there.

It's clear taking a shortcut down the rock face

rather than descending by the steps at the end of the cliff

was risky, to say the least.

-It's all right.

-I don't think it was very wise.

Not in trainers and no climbing gear whatsoever

and a young child with them, as well.

It seems rather foolhardy, I would say.

-I've got some big strong men, I'll be fine.

-And again.

The painkilling gas is making Sophie giddy.

SOPHIE LAUGHS

Right, keep coming.

-Good job I've had some gas and air, innit?

-Yep. Keep coming.

Sliding down on me bum!

-Hang on a second.

-I'm all right, monkey. Your mum's a toughie.

Sophie's little daughter can only watch the rescue

from the arms of her mum's friend, Cassie Francis.

So we'll get her up onto her feet and we'll hop along. Yeah?

That's what I was saying!

By hook or crook, we managed to slide her down on her backside.

So we've stood Mountain Rescue down.

And she's going to make her way up with a ground vehicle

to Airedale General, which is a couple of miles down the road.

Give me a cuddle, then, quick.

Give me a kiss. Auntie Emma's going to come and get you.

-Yeah. You're going to be with Auntie Emma.

-Yeah.

We were coming down to the bench down there to have a quick fag

and she ended up slipping and obviously hurting her foot.

A number of people in the party, one child under four,

coming down a rock face which is approximately 70 feet top to bottom.

I don't really know the words I can use

to describe why you wouldn't do that.

Her broken ankle turns out to be more serious than first appeared.

She needs surgery. And, two months later, is still in pain.

It's a shortcut she's unlikely to take again.

It was a choice of either go down the steps

and take an extra five minutes to have a fag

or climb down the cliff.

So me and Cassie climbed down the cliff, which is when I fell.

All you heard was like a big snap.

It was like a tree had snapped in half.

I thought I'd landed on one. My bum was a bit sore,

so I was like, "I think I've just broke a tree."

And then as I went to stand up, my leg just sort of went like that

and I just fell to the floor,

which is when I realised I'd broke my ankle.

I had two articular fractures to both sides of my ankle.

A piece of bone came away.

I had a slight separation between my foot bone and my leg bone.

It doesn't hurt all the time now,

but I think I've got some nerve damage or something

because I can't feel my foot half of the time.

I don't think it'll happen again.

I'm not going to be that stupid to take a shortcut, anyway.

You need stamina to live in some parts of Yorkshire.

It has 40 hills higher than 2,000 feet.

And a hilly landscape presents some serious problems

for those who live there.

Hill farming is a tough job.

Out in all weathers and exposed to all the risks

of dealing with machinery and livestock.

For Mavis Dent, life revolves around her dairy herd

at Swainsdy Farm high on the Moors.

Few farmers up here have pensions,

and at 73, Mavis is still going strong.

But one day, the remoteness of her hilltop home

almost cost her her life.

-What is it? Someone's been squished by a cow?

-Yeah.

-The killer cow.

-Killer cow.

-Struck again.

Pilot Chris Attrill is heading for Mavis's farm.

There's been a serious accident in the cowshed. She's been crushed.

All looking clear.

By the time Helimed 98's crew arrives,

the cows, which can weigh half a ton each, are locked away.

It's safe for paramedic Pete Vallance to go in.

-Hello.

-Hello, sir.

Whereabouts are they?

Ground crews have already prepared Mavis for take off.

It's feared she has a serious head injury.

One, two, three.

Mavis was in the cow pen

and she was basically just ushering the cows on

and I think a couple of them turned around and charged.

So she took a step back and tripped over

and banged her head on the gate behind her.

She got to her feet and then she collapsed.

She's complaining of neck pain

so we've called the air ambulance to get her off to James Cook.

Concussion can cause dizziness or even memory loss.

It can take months to recover.

Have you been in a helicopter before, Mavis?

But the symptoms are similar

to those of a much more serious brain bleed.

I think I might want to be sick.

OK. Let's just get you there so we can move you if need be.

Though she is only around 20 miles from hospital,

the journey by land ambulance

could take half an hour on the winding Moors' roads.

The Helimed chopper will get there in well under ten minutes.

Mavis? Just take some deep breaths for me, sweetheart.

All right?

Nice and steady.

INDISTINCT RADIO

Mavis will spend several hours

in hospital in Middlesbrough undergoing tests.

But hill farmers are tough and she's soon sent home to Swainsdy Farm.

I was at James Cook and they were very good.

They brought me painkillers, etcetera.

And then...I was there for six hours,

and I had a scan and everything.

And after I'd had the scan, they said I could go home.

I hadn't actually damaged anything,

but there was a lot of bruising and that sort of damage.

Mavis remembers little of her flight,

but hill farmers count every penny,

and one part of her treatment sticks in her mind.

What I do remember is when the ambulance men come, they said,

could they cut me clothes?

SHE LAUGHS

And I said, "Yes."

But when I come to, it was two of me favourite jumpers that they'd cut.

I'm fine now and I'm sure it's thanks to those helicopter lads.

I could've been a lot, lot worse.

Hills don't come much steeper than Chimney Bank

in picturesque Rosedale.

33% is one-in-three in old money.

No wonder many cars struggle to get up.

But when there's ice, this moorland road is lethal.

Helimed 99's been scrambled to a road accident

at the top of the bank.

DISPATCHER: "We are mobile, over."

"We're going to be the first on the scene, over."

Not surprisingly, ground vehicles can't reach it.

We don't know any injuries yet. There's no resources on scene.

Very early, frosty cold morning.

So they'll be cold as well as injured.

Paramedic Paul Kilner spots an ambulance below,

but it's stuck on the icy roads, unable to get up the hill.

"I've just spoken to the dispatcher. They can't get up the banks.

"They're really struggling with the ice."

They can't get up here.

Firefighters have been called,

but they, too, are having difficulty getting to the scene.

98, just checking, we'll need the fire brigade on this detail,

recovering the car.

Approach with caution and probably from the north side

because the police and the ambulance service

have failed to come up the road from the south, over.

A passing motorist was first on scene and made the emergency call.

-His name's Jim.

-Hello.

You're doing a fantastic job. Thank you very much.

He's in extreme pain, pain in his right hip,

which he's had replaced.

He's had a hip replacement.

-And right wrist and lower back pain.

-That's fantastic.

Thank you very much for everything you're doing.

-And his name's Jim?

-His name's Jim, yeah.

Jim?

James Gwatkin can't move.

He's tightly wedged in the front of the Land Rover and in great pain.

So, Jim, apart from having had a hip replacement,

are you hurting anywhere else?

-Me wrist.

-Yeah. Your hip.

Yeah, me hip.

What I'm probably going to do is come in from behind you, all right?

I need you to carry on looking straight

and keep your neck and back in a straight line.

All right, you stay still.

The Land Rover rolled over

and landed precariously balanced on its side.

The fire brigade is needed urgently to stabilise the vehicle,

but the priority is keeping the patient warm.

I'll be going inside in a bit,

but until I've got my hard hat, I just can't scramble in.

You're in a bit of a predicament.

-Just a bit.

-Just a bit. Just a bit of a pickle, eh?

No bother. It's what we specialise in.

With the rain we've had overnight and the drop in temperatures,

the road has just turned to sheet glass.

We're struggling like the devil

to get up and down the roads at the moment.

It's highly treacherous.

We're trying to get the gritters up here. The fire service are coming.

-Have you got plenty of layers on in there?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

It's still well below freezing

and there's a real risk that James could get hypothermia.

But there's a delay. The fire brigade cannot get near the scene.

The policeman reckons the fire service aren't going to be

able to make it up the hill, which I agree,

knowing that the ambulance is stuck at the bottom.

But they're going to have to approach from above.

The cab is cramped

and makes treating James very difficult for paramedic Sammy.

They can't get him out.

This has to be the smallest little windscreen I've ever seen.

-Is it normally that size?

-Yeah.

Oh, I thought you'd squashed it.

Well, I don't know.

Had this accident happened half an hour earlier,

it could've been far worse.

James is on the school run and had only just dropped off his children.

He's overturned on the road here. We've got a little dyke behind us.

The concern is the vehicle's not fully stable.

We can gain entry into the back, I've had a look there,

so we potentially will be taking him out of there.

We need the fire service here to stabilise the vehicle.

So at the moment, Sammy's assessed him

and we're trying to make him nice and secure at this moment in time.

With the fire engine still stuck on the ice, a team of firefighters

has hitched a lift with flying doctor Nick Morton.

We nearly lost it on the bend. I was able to get through with my 4x4,

whereas the ambulance couldn't get through. I brought a fireman up.

It's going to be painful to move James without more painkillers,

so Doctor Morton gives him ketamine, a powerful anaesthetic.

And while that takes effect, more equipment is called for.

He's probably got a lower hip injury.

He needs sufficient painkillers.

We're waiting for the cutting gear

so we can start to remove the seat

and slide him out on the spinal board.

Firefighters are experts at getting people out of twisted wreckage.

The idea is once we get a few more people here,

we're going to try and take him out of the back door.

These seats would need to be moved to some degree.

I don't know if his airbag's gone off. We might need something covering that.

Extra manpower arrives with the cutting equipment.

It makes easy work of removing the rear seats.

-And now James is ready to be carefully moved out.

-That's it.

He's got to come up onto this board.

-All right.

-Ready, steady, slide.

Close left, close left.

-Right.

-Oh!

-All right, fella, all right.

There's real concern his artificial hip has been damaged

and he could have neck injuries.

Bring his head right up to the top up here.

He's secure on here, it's all right.

-Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.

-Keep coming, keep coming.

Hang on. He's right up to the top.

James is feeling the effects of the ketamine.

As well as having anaesthetic properties,

it can also have a euphoric effect.

-It's good stuff, isn't it?

-I can hear noises and voices and...

But you're not really with us. It's great, isn't it?

Fantastic. You might just feel this getting tight on your arm.

-How's your pain feeling now?

-About eight.

Eight out of ten. OK.

-Everybody happy?

-Clear left.

-Clear right.

-Thank you.

Doctor Morton will travel with James to monitor him

during the flight to hospital.

"98 en route to James Cook, over."

Even from this remote location high in the hills,

getting James to Middlesbrough will take just ten minutes.

His only pain is in his pelvis and side,

so there's real concern he has damaged his replacement hip.

A few weeks later, though, James is back on his feet.

And apart from cuts and bruises, he's made a good recovery.

As I set off that morning, the sun was shining,

there wasn't a hint of frost.

It were a cold morning, but it wasn't frosty or icy or snowy.

I come over a slight brow at the hill going down

and there were black ice, which caught me out.

The vehicle started skidding, I tried to steer into it.

And, er...it went one too far.

It went over, it rolled all the way round, back onto its wheels.

And I thought, "I'm going to be able to drive this off."

At that point, it started going over again and I thought, "No, I'm not."

And I was hoping and praying

it was going to actually get back onto its wheels again.

Frightening moment really.

James is still grateful the children weren't in the car.

And if it wasn't for a passer-by, he could've been stuck there for hours.

I were worried about nobody finding me for a long time.

Obviously, being trapped in the vehicle, it were cold weather.

Luckily, the person that did find me,

he said he wasn't going to stop

because he thought it was an accident that happened at night

and the police hadn't recovered the vehicle yet.

But he stopped just to check.

And, er...thankfully he did.

I've been lucky to walk away as I have, definitely. Um...

I can't say any more.

I'd just love to thank the people that all helped out.

Plunging descents and energy-sapping inclines

make the roads of the Yorkshire Dales a real test for cyclists.

No wonder next year's Tour de France will begin here,

despite the area's reputation for wet weather.

Helimed 99 is on its way to Keld in Swaledale.

A cyclist has been found lying in the road with head injuries.

But today, the weather is not on pilot Steve Cobb's side.

This incident's quite high up in the Yorkshire Dales.

It's quite high hills with steep hills around.

At the moment, we're just on the bottom of the cloud at about 1800,

so it's a bit touch and go if we can get there or not.

More information is radioed through about the injured cyclist.

DISPATCHER: "99 crew on scene.

"The patient has a substantial head injury.

"Not sure if he's been knocked off his bike

"and left laying in the road."

Roger, all received. Received, over.

If we carry on over there, we should be over to Wensleydale, shouldn't we?

Pilot Steve is forced to take a different route

as cloud cover is far too low.

Go into Wensleydale and we should be able to get there, I'd imagine.

A mile from the scene and finally, the clouds part just in time

for Darren to spot the accident site.

Oh, there it is, blue light. Super.

We like it.

Definitely been knocked out.

When we first got here, no short-term, long-term memory recall.

-He's very combative.

-Is he?

Can't do C-spine. He's refusing obs.

-Right.

-So we're suspecting he's got...

-Cool.

68-year-old cyclist Leonard Shepherd was riding down the hill

when he hit this wall.

He was not wearing a helmet.

He was just lying on the floor.

It looked to me like it had only just happened

because he was still attached to the bike and he was in a nasty way.

There was blood all over the floor, all over his head and that.

I just stopped and went back that way and called for an ambulance.

Len is onboard the ambulance, dazed and confused.

He was very dazed. He was trying to get up off the road.

He didn't know who he was, where he was.

Didn't know how he'd got on the road. Um...

Hi, Len. How are we doing, chief? I'm James.

-I'm with the ambulance service.

-Can I...?

-Of course we can.

-What I want to do, Len, is that arm sore at the moment?

-Sorry?

-Is your arm sore?

-It's about...it's hurting a bit there.

We'll give you some nice strong painkillers for it.

-OK?

-Before we...

-I'm listening. Go on.

You keep talking and I'll keep working.

-I'm just talking about me...

-About what, sir?

Len won't allow paramedics to protect his neck

with a surgical collar or immobilise him.

-Are you allergic to anything, Len?

-Sorry?

-Are you allergic to any medicines?

-Er...

-Yes.

-What are they?

Do you know the name of them?

When faced with a badly-injured patient,

paramedics need to establish exactly what has happened.

The police are also trying to work out

whether Len was knocked off his bike.

I'm looking to see if there's any evidence of other vehicles

that have been involved or any other people that have been involved.

There's some damage to a wall and there are some marks on the road,

but, er...our collision investigation unit team

will come and have a look and we'll hopefully be able

to speak to the gentleman soon and get some details from him.

But at the moment, even Len doesn't know how the accident happened.

I'm still trying to work out what happened.

You've fallen off your bike or been knocked off your bike.

I could've been knocked off.

-Do you think you've been knocked off, do you?

-I don't know. Yes.

-OK.

Len is confused, but prepared for flight

and ready to be transported to hospital.

Just going outside, chief.

That's it, Len.

Just get you up to the helicopter, matey.

Slowly.

Just lift this up to about nipple-height

and just keep passing it until he says stop.

He's a poorly lad.

He's come off his bike at a decent hill, considerable speed.

He's got a significant head injury,

being altered with the ambulance crew.

He's still a bit combative and confused,

so they'll get him up to James Cook,

get him in the scanner and see what's going on.

The nearest hospital for head injuries

is James Cook in Middlesbrough.

It's feared his head injury could be serious.

He was not wearing a cycling helmet, he was wearing a woolly hat.

The last I heard, they don't make them with armour plating inside.

So his head injury is substantially worse

because he's had no protection.

99 airlift.

"99, go ahead."

We've lifted. Just for your information,

we're en route to James Cook.

In the crash, Len's brain had been shaken badly inside his skull,

bruising it and causing severe concussion.

But luckily for him, after two brain scans,

it was clear the damage and memory loss would not last long.

He also had a list of other injuries.

He fractured his right shoulder

and badly damaged his left hand where he hit the wall.

Within two days, he was out of hospital,

but it's six months before he's fully recovered.

Well, I had planned to do some photography at the top of Swaledale

and the weather was awful when I got there, but never mind that.

Started to come back, hit a pothole on a smooth stretch of road,

hit the wall two or three times and the next thing I knew,

I was being loaded into the air ambulance about two hours later.

-I'm just talking about me...

-About what, sir?

I had a nasty hand injury where I hit the wall first time.

I had a minor head injury.

The main problem was I'd rotated three times in midair

and that is probably what caused the brain confusion.

I also came to a complete full stop against that right shoulder,

which was where the main injuries were.

Len is now back on his bike in his woolly hat

and keen to forget about his accident.

I've cycled since I was five-years-old.

I've raced on the Continent for many years and I kept it going.

But I also have a very keen interest in photography.

A bicycle is a marvellous aid because

you're cycling along, your head's higher than in a car, you see more.

And if you see something good, you put the bike in the ditch,

get your camera out and take the photo.

If you're in a car, by the time you find somewhere safe to park

and walk back, it's gone.

You can have a marvellous day out.

And if you're moderately fit, it's not that difficult, cycling...

downhill!

Now, air ambulance crews practise emergency procedures every day,

but many complete their careers without experiencing

a critical in-flight failure for real.

How pilots handle those vital few seconds in the air

after something goes wrong can make the difference

between a safe landing and a lethal crash.

And you don't get a second chance.

In a light aircraft, losing an engine is always serious.

Especially when it's the only one you have.

That's a first for me, this, aircraft.

-You got your morphine, mate?

-Yeah. Phone.

-Got us radios, got us mobile?

-Yeah.

We're being flight-followed, so...

Paramedic Andy Armitage knows

that unless the pilot has been very lucky or very skilled,

serious injuries are likely.

Helimed 99, we're en route to this incident.

Any further details or a stand-down, please let us know via the airwaves.

DISPATCHER: "Helimed 99, that's all received that you're airborne.

"Do you have an ETA, please? Over."

Ten.

"Yeah, ETA ten minutes."

The crash has happened at an airstrip

near the market town of Selby.

On a colliery spoil heap,

the wreckage of a light plane litters the ground.

But the two men in the aircraft have been very lucky.

Hi, there. You all OK?

-How you doing, gentlemen? Just you two in the aircraft?

-Yeah.

Do you know what happened, guys?

We were just coming down and we lost our power.

And suddenly, smoke started coming out

and we struggled because we tried to glide in.

Have you hurt yourselves, guys?

My head banged here.

But you've both walked out of the aircraft as you've come down.

-No neck pains anywhere?

-No, no.

Paramedic Leon Baranowski is suspicious of the pilot's miracle escape.

He fears he may have a neck injury from the impact.

-Whereabouts were you sat in the...?

-I was in P2. The right seat.

OK, the right seat.

The Piper Arrow was only minutes from landing

when the engine cut out.

Saplings on the heap slowed it down safely.

Mature trees would've torn it to pieces.

We were supposed to land here, have a cup of coffee

and then fly back to the field.

We're going to do your observations

and get you checked over, make sure everything else is all right.

But I think most importantly, we'll get you off the hill,

get you over to a land ambulance at the airport

and we'll fly you over in the helicopter

because of the access issues.

Despite a crash which wrecked their plane, both men are unhurt.

They'll go to hospital for a checkup just to be sure.

And they're well enough to want a souvenir snap

of their unhappy landing.

Two very lucky fliers there.

And if I'm ever in a plane with engine failure,

I hope that guy's at the controls.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd