Helicopter Lift from Roanoke Memorial Hospital

If you all missed it, one of the more exciting things to happen in Roanoke took place Saturday, June 28, 2008, when a US National Guard BlackHawk helicopter lifted a crippled Virginia State Police helicopter from the helipad on top of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. I positioned myself to try to photograph the lift and carry from a side view perspective. Below are a few of the shots I took of the endeavor.

The mass of deciders is gathered on the helipad, while the military personnel prepare the broken helicopter for the trip.

After a swift hookup by the loadmaster, the BlackHawk tightens the lift cable to start the transport.

The BlackHawk barely strains to lift the crippled chopper off of the roof helipad.

The crippled helicopter cooperated completely through the entire trip. It only started to rotate as it was about to be placed on the landing zone.

The BlackHawk then had to return to the RMH Roof Helipad to retrieve the broken helicopters rotor blades, which were removed for the transport.

While the lift was being organized and in operation, Carilion set up a temporary landing zone for incoming flights.