A Blackhawk helicopter flight crew from the Tennessee Army National Guard rescued an injured hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park early Tuesday morning (9/10/2024).
The call went out around 3am eastern time for an injured hiker needing rapid transport to a nearby hospital. The hiker was in a remote area, near Bullhead Trail, south of Gatlinburg, close to the North Carolina border.
Shortly before 5:15am, a flight paramedic was lowered to the ground to do a quick medical assessment and the hiker was hoisted into the helicopter. The aircraft landed at UT Medical Center in Knoxville at approximately 5:45am where medical personnel rushed the patient into the emergency room.