Rescue training (Magaliesberg) Aug 2006

A full day of drop-line helicopter training at Grootkloof in the Magaliesberg. Drop-line is a technique used when the hoist of the helicopter (between 40 and 60m long) is too short to hoist personnel or patients out of a place, and the Magaliesberg kloofs are good examples of where this technique would be required. Typically, a rapid access team would locate and assist a patient, followed by more team members carrying a stretcher to package the patient. The team in the helicopter would then insert a drop-line, a 180m length of static rope, using a 20kg sandbag as anchor weight. Once the drop-line reaches the patient, the line is attached to the patient and a jockey (usually a medically-trained person to look after the patient) and then both are lifted out. This is done by the helicopter actually lifting, instead of any hoisting action inside the helicopter. When the patient/jockey at the bottom of the drop-line are clear of any obstacles, they are lowered to a more convenient position where other team members are waiting to load the patient into the helicopter for evacuation to a hospital.