When a male hiker was stranded on a mountain near Phoenix for 13 hours last week, he got help from a surprising source: a weight-bearing drone.
In a first-of-its-kind mission for the area, the Phoenix Fire Department used a DJI drone to send supplies to the injured hiker on Camelback Mountain, keeping him safe until rescuers could finally reach him in the morning.
It all started last week, when Phoenix’s first responders received reports of a stranded hiker around 8 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 16. They were able to locate the hiker using a helicopter, but decided it was “too dangerous” to rescue him at night, according to a statement from the fire department.
Instead, rescuers planned on hoisting him off the mountain after sunrise.
In the meantime, however, the fire department deployed a drone to send the hiker a cellphone, as his phone had already died. This allowed responders to stay in communication with him until help arrived. Moreover, the drone brought water, food, and a blanket to keep him warm amid temperatures that dipped into the 40s.
The hiker was later transported via helicopter to a hospital, where he was treated for an ankle injury.
“We use the drone a lot to locate hikers, but this was the first time we used it to actually send equipment up like bottles of water and blankets,” Capt. Mike Johnson told GearJunkie this week. “The drone really saved the day.”
Drones to the Rescue
Though most people are familiar with drones through aerial photography, the flying machines have been increasingly used to assist rescuers. In addition to locating bodies of missing persons, sometimes they can even save people from truly desperate situations.
This summer, for example, a Vietnamese farmer used his drone — which normally just spreads fertilizer — to save two children from a flooded river. Tran Van Nghia was working his land in Vietnam’s central highlands when he saw children trapped on a quickly submerging island in the middle of a nearby river. Unable to reach them by swimming, he attached a rope to his drone and airlifted them to safety.
Drones also showed their increasing usefulness on Mount Everest this year.
Every year, Sherpas find a route through the mountain’s dangerous Khumbu Icefall, installing the fixed ropes that paying clients will follow to the summit. But by using drones this spring to guide them, they’ll no longer have to hunt for passage through trial and error.
For the first time, cargo drones will now scout ahead to find the safest line. The drones will also carry the ropes and aluminum ladders needed to prepare the route and even shuttle loads up to Camp 1.
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