Rope Rescue
Pilot Rescued from Plane Crash
A plane crashed into the trees near the Gettysburg Regional Airport Saturday afternoon. The pilot, an 87-year-old local man, was not injured. The pilot experienced an engine failure and tried to return to the airport.

Tech Rescue Team
When the photos below first made the rounds on Social Media Saturday, many responders wondered what the correct course of action should be to rescue the trapped pilot. Here’s the answer, get your Tech Rescue Team there!
- Adams Regional Emergency Medical Service, Inc.
- Adams Regional Emergency Medical Service, Inc.
A plane crashed into the trees near the Gettysburg Regional Airport Saturday afternoon. The pilot, an 87-year-old local man, was not injured. The pilot experienced an engine failure and tried to return to the airport. The plane ended up in the trees about 50 feet off the ground. The man called police after the crash from his cell phone. The single-engine plane faced nose-down for about four hours while rescue officials figured out how to free the pilot, Shank said. The plane was in a stable setting and the pilot was alert, so there was no rush to get him out, he said.
“He was in very good spirits the whole time there,” he said. “He was conscious, alert and oriented the whole incident, which lasted almost four hours. I think by the end, he was a little anxious to get out, as we all were to get him out of the situation he was in.”
Police, who arrived on scene around 12:30 p.m., originally thought they would use a Maryland State Police helicopter to fly above the plane and send a man down with a cable to get the pilot out, Shank said. However, the wind from the helicopter could have made the plane too unstable, so they decided otherwise, he said.
Frederick County Advanced Technical Rescue, assisted by crews in York and Adams counties, used ladders to climb from the ground to the plane, Shank said. After cutting branches from around the plane down, rescue workers put the man in a sling and lowered him to the ground, he said. Read the complete story here: The Evening Sun
Rope Rescue
Low Angle Rescue
Low Angle Rescue
Moving a patient up an embankment back to the roadway could be as simple as guiding them up. However, depending on the angle of the embankment, weather and soil conditions the safest method is with a stokes basket attached to a low angle rope hauling system. Paratech Monopod being used at a recent incident in Hunterdon County NJ.
Z-Drag
Another easy to rig low angle system is a Z-Drag.
Rescue Rigs
Roswell GA Heavy Rescue Sutphen SVI-Trucks
This apparatus comes equipped with a Command Light Knight 2 series light tower, Carefree Mirage Lateral Arm Patio Awning, Resolve Space Saver fill station, Cab/Body Walk-Through Connection and packed full of Paratech Struts!

Roswell, GA Heavy Rescue
Roswell, GA Fire Rescue had a new heavy rescue built with a 22′ aluminum SVI-body mounted on a 20″ raised roof Sutphen Monarch chassis with a Cummins X12 500 HP engine. This apparatus comes equipped with a Command Light Knight 2 series light tower, Carefree Mirage Lateral Arm Patio Awning, Resolve Space Saver fill station, Cab/Body Walk-Through Connection and packed full of Paratech Struts!
- Features
- Specifications
- Drawings
Overall
Compartments
Roof
Cab
Bumper
Rear

Ropes and Knots
In the fire academy, basic fire service knots are taught and just as easily forgotten without practice and training. Checkout the Rescue Knots for Roco Students downloadable PDF file.