Miraculous Rescue: Helicopter Pilot Survives Crash in Gulf of Carpentaria

In a harrowing incident near Normanton in the Gulf of Carpentaria, helicopter pilot Frank Hoare is lucky to be alive after his helicopter crashed while mustering cattle. The crash occurred when his aircraft struck a power line, sending it plummeting 12 meters to the ground.

“It was a straightforward day,” Frank recounted, “and we were about an hour or so off finishing the job.” Despite his vigilance regarding power lines, he lost sight of them while focused on the animals. “The next thing I knew, I hit the lines, my tail ripped off, and my chopper started spinning out of control. Then I passed out.”

With no cell reception due to the downed power lines, a nearby cattle muster witnessed the crash and quickly raced back to the station on his motorbike to alert the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).

In under an hour, the RFDS Mount Isa aeromedical team had landed, equipped with medical supplies, and traveled to retrieve Frank from the crash site at Neumayer Valley. “I don’t know how long I was out for, but when I woke up, Richard, the Station Manager, was with me,” said Frank, who realized he couldn’t move his leg.

Jamie-Lee McCall, Nurse Manager for RFDS Aeromedical, described the scene: “We were concerned that Frank was still in the cockpit because there was a danger of the helicopter igniting or the paddock setting alight from the fallen power lines.” The team assessed Frank’s condition and immediately recognized the severity of his injuries.

Using a portable ultrasound, they pinpointed where to inject a nerve-blocker to alleviate Frank’s pain, while a pelvic binder was applied to minimize the risk of internal bleeding. This was Frank’s first accident in his 23 years of flying.

A Community’s Concern

The news of the crash sent shockwaves throughout the local community and especially impacted Frank’s wife, Sarah. “When Frank crashed, I was working at a small animal clinic in Charters Towers,” she recalled. “When I told my colleague it was near Normanton, her face dropped. She said, ‘There’s been a helicopter accident up there.’”

Initially, Sarah hoped it wasn’t Frank, but when she saw the Facebook post about the accident, her fears intensified. Attempts to reach Frank were futile due to the power outage, leading her to eventually confirm her worst fears; it was indeed Frank, but he had survived.

“For me, not knowing if he was going to live or die was the worst thing,” Sarah admitted. Once stabilized, Frank was given a mobile phone to reach out to Sarah and reassure her that he was alright.

Healing and Gratitude

After being transported to Townsville for emergency surgery on his broken femur, Frank returned home after nine weeks of recovery. “We are forever grateful for the RFDS,” Sarah expressed. “Having medical professionals able to turn up to a crash scene in the middle of nowhere is vital. If we won the lottery, we would donate millions of dollars to the RFDS.”

Frank, now back to work mustering cattle from the air, reflects on the life-changing experience with gratitude for the rescue team that saved his life.

Source: Royal Flying Doctor Service. For more information on how to make a tax-deductible donation to help the RFDS this tax time click here