Emergency radio traffic obtained through public records shows crews coordinating weather, landing zones, patient movement and a helicopter hoist during the four-hour rescue
By Annie Dance | Lake Lure News | Cops & Congress | News & Commentary
A 21-year-old male hiker who fell about 50 feet on Grandfather Mountain was rescued Saturday in a coordinated operation involving local fire and rescue crews, North Carolina Emergency Management, the State Highway Patrol and specialized helicopter rescue technicians.
Public records emergency radio audio obtained by Cops & Congress provides a detailed look at the operation — including crews navigating the rugged terrain, coordinating two helicopters and determining how to move the injured hiker from the woods to a rock outcropping where a hoist could be conducted.
Avery County 911 notified Linville-Central Rescue Squad around noon after the hiker fell while walking the Profile Trail.
Responders reached the patient at about 2 p.m. and determined that a helicopter hoist would be necessary because of the patient’s injuries and the difficult terrain.
The Profile Trail is a strenuous 3.6-mile route that climbs 1,775 feet from its N.C. 105 trailhead to Calloway Gap at an elevation of 5,675 feet, according to Grandfather Mountain.
The emergency radio traffic shows how precisely rescuers had to coordinate the operation.
As the helicopter approached the mountain, crews worked to identify the rescuers and patient from the air.
One ground rescuer told the helicopter crew that the patient was about 150 feet from a rock outcropping where the hoist could be conducted.
“The patient is inside, on top of the ridge line in the woods, under a heavy tree canopy,” the rescuer said. “We’re going to need to bring him out to my location.”
The helicopter crew responded that it had eyes on the rescuer.
“Hey, I’ve got eyes on you, and the patient’s between me and you right now,” the pilot said.
The ground crew confirmed the location and explained that rescuers would need to use a stable flight bag or litter to move the patient through the woods to the extraction point.
Weather was another consideration.
At one point, crews reported a 200-by-200-foot opening at the landing zone with winds of less than 5 knots.
The radio traffic also shows crews preparing for changing weather conditions and attempting to keep the operation moving while maintaining a backup plan.
“Just going to recommend continue with the basket just in case something goes south with the weather in the helicopter,” one rescuer told the helicopter crew.
Annie Dance@AnnieMDance
Hiker rescued after significant Grandfather Mountain fall; NC-TF 8 conducted hoist operation with multiple Western North Carolina agencies. #WNC
2:16 AM · Aug 16, 2026 · 862 Views
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The operation involved more than one aircraft.
The radio traffic shows a North Carolina State Highway Patrol helicopter coordinating with crews on the mountain and a medical helicopter headed to the landing zone.
One helicopter crew reported that it was approaching the patient’s location while another coordinated with the landing zone at McRae Meadows.
At one point, a crew member reported seeing two aircraft — one on the ground and another circling overhead.
Crews also had to determine whether the patient would be moved before the rescue helicopter arrived or whether the helicopter would hoist directly from the rock outcropping.
A ground rescuer clarified the plan: The patient would have to be carried roughly 150 feet from the woods to the exposed rock area before the hoist.
When the helicopter crew did not have the requested stable flight bag, the teams adjusted the plan and prepared to use standard equipment.
The ground team ultimately asked the helicopter crew to drop a basket near a trail junction and bring additional personnel to assist with moving the patient.
The radio traffic also captures crews confirming the patient’s weight before the hoist operation.
“185 pounds. 83 kilos,” a rescuer reported.
North Carolina Emergency Management approved the helicopter rescue response and dispatched a North Carolina State Highway Patrol helicopter with two helicopter rescue technicians from the Raleigh Fire Department through the North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, or NCHART.
The Raleigh firefighters responded to the State Highway Patrol hangar in Raleigh, and the helicopter was airborne at about 2:30 p.m.
“Missions like this truly take everyone working together. From the ground teams reaching and caring for the patient, to Emergency Management coordinating resources, aviation crews conducting the extraction, and EMS continuing care,” Wesley Powell, NCDPS Emergency Services Coordinator and NC HART Program Manager, said on social media. “Every piece plays an important role! Great teamwork and coordination by everyone involved. ‘Thank you’ to all who helped make this mission a success! I absolutely love this job!!”
According to the rescue timeline provided by Linville-Central Rescue Squad, the helicopter arrived at the scene around 3:50 p.m. after encountering storms and headwinds during the flight.
The patient and both rescue technicians were back aboard the State Highway Patrol helicopter at about 4:25 p.m.
The patient was then taken to a nearby landing zone and transferred to a medical helicopter operated by Highlands Emergency Air Rescue & Transport at approximately 4:30 p.m.
The patient was transported to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee.
The ground operation included Linville Volunteer Fire Department, Avery County EMS, Avery County Emergency Management, Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department, Banner Elk Volunteer Fire and Rescue, NC Mountain Rescue Team 1 and Grandfather Mountain State Park personnel.
The operation lasted more than four hours.
The radio traffic illustrates why technical mountain rescues require specialized training and coordination. Crews had to locate the patient under a heavy tree canopy, move him through rugged terrain, establish a safe extraction point, coordinate aircraft and landing zones, account for weather, and complete the hoist without putting rescuers or the patient at additional risk.
North Carolina Emergency Management said such rescues require extensive preparation.
“These types of high-skill, high-risk rescues are not completed by chance,” the agency said. “It takes hundreds and even thousands of hours of training by all parties.”
For the public, the emergency radio traffic offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how those resources come together when a serious injury occurs in some of North Carolina’s most challenging terrain.
And in this case, the difference between a 50-foot fall and getting the patient to definitive medical care depended on dozens of people, specialized equipment, two helicopters, and precise coordination from the trail to the landing zone.
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