◆ Insights / After Action Reports

NC HART Rescue: Grandfather Mountain

P1AR Team · September 25, 2026

Just after noon on August 15th, a hiker took a sustained 50-foot fall on Grandfather Mountain's Profile Trail. Ground crews arrived on scene, made the initial assessment, and called for an air asset. A Highway Patrol Bell 429 crew was airborne out of Raleigh a short time later, with members of the HART on board.

Weather was spotty during the flight out, forcing some rerouting, but generally cleared as the team arrived on scene. A busy day on the trail made spotting the ground team challenging as there were a number of groups hiking the trail. The patient was in vegetation running 5–15 feet tall—too thick for direct insertion, so a rocky clearing nearby was selected for insertion.

The Rescue Team Leader (RTL) and additional Rescue Specialist (RS) utilized two single-person insertions to get gear and personnel down. RTL went down first with a collapsible litter, followed by RS with tagline and helitack bag. Ground crews had minimal equipment available and packaging was completed by RTL and RS once on site. With assistance from the ground crew, the packaged patient was carried to the rocky clearing. RTL remained on the ground with tagline as the RS ascended with the patient.

The RS was positioned on the left-hand side of the patient while ascending, intending to be on the outboard side of the litter at the door so the RS could position their feet on the skids to assist in transitioning the litter through the door. This is how they had trained to move a mannequin-loaded litter into the Bell 429. However, the actual patient had larger shoulders and overall build than the training mannequin, and the RS was unable to reach the skids with their feet. The crew adapted immediately and elected to execute cabin entry with the RS’s back to the door. The team had rehearsed this specific entry previously on a different airframe and were able to execute on the Bell 429 without issue.

The patient was transported to a nearby lily pad for follow-on transport to medical care, and was in good spirits, even sliding their phone out of the helitack bag once in the aircraft to ask for a picture during the transport.

“It felt like just another training day.”

Despite the mid-mission improvisation, the team emphasized the strength of their preparation through training: "it felt like just another training day," as one HART member put it. HART trains monthly across the state’s wide range of terrain: maritime scenarios along the Outer Banks, high angle/vertical surface in the Smokies, plus river/swift water. When the team introduced the Bell 429, they brought in Priority 1 Air Rescue as an external training partner to build a hoist proficiency baseline on the new airframe. The rescue team also noted exceptional support from NC Emergency Management's coordination and smooth interagency work across Highway Patrol, National Guard, and the state's fire departments that make up HART