Zachráněné životy
2
Flying
Mountain
Crash or collision
Normal conditions
AquaLink Rescue's Pilot on Austria's Mountainside
46.8295388°N, 10.9696198°E
Posted on May 18, 2022 by Maxime
What happened?
During a wonderful Fall Sunday flight in the Alps, we decided spontaneously to see a glacier.
Shortly before it, I had to dodge a material transportation cable which had its altitude falsely (1800 ft. too low) indicated on my navigation software.
We pulled ourselves as far as we could go from the plane, as our backs were injured during the crash, and we set off the AquaLink PLB immediately, as I didn’t have an ELT installed in the plane.
Although lying at 9.800ft in steep mountain terrain, I am amazed how precisely SARs could locate us thanks to my already six years old ACR Aqualink and be on site barely 50 minutes after triggering my AquaLink.
And additionally to my PLB, I am glad my flight helmet saved my life during the first impact.
Watch Maxime’s re-telling of his crash and the gear that got him home:
See more of Maxime’s flight around Europe:
Words of wisdom
For several years, I have been advocating among my fellow backcountry and mountain pilot friends about the importance of having a PLB on themselves at every flight.
The only item I lost during the crash which wasn´t located into my safety vest like my PLB, was indeed my phone!
If you crash, you definitely don´t want to loose time while starting to search for your PLB and survival gear.
Thank you note
I couldn´t be more grateful to ACR and their employees for having provided us great product which, indeed, saved our lives!
Rescue location
Ramolweg 5, 6456 Obergurgl, Austria
Rescue team
Local Search and Rescue
