Bristow SAR team wins safety award
Winch operator Jason Bibby and winch paramedic, Carlton Real (centre with their award), together with captain Jörg Brunner (far left) and captain Debdash Bhattacharya (far right), wo were piloting the aircraft during the winching operation.
A Bristow search and rescue (SAR) team based at Newquay, Cornwall, southwestern UK has won a prestigious safety award.
Recipients of the 2024 Billy Deacon SAR Memorial Trophy were winch paramedic, Carlton Real and winch operator, Jason Bibby of SAR helicopter Rescue 924. The pair received their awards recently at the Air League’s annual reception ceremony at the House of Commons, London in recognition of their “outstanding performance in dangerous circumstances during a rescue in 2023”.
On the evening of May 22nd, 2023, the team were dispatched to investigate reports of a man and a woman who had been cut off by the tide and swept into a cave, where they became trapped by rough seas. Arriving at the scene six minutes after take-off, the helicopter crew were met by a challenging situation. They couldn’t see the trapped pair although the local Cliff Rescue Team (CRT), which had been trying to reach them, could hear their cries for help from inside the cave.
The CRT floated a line into the cave and suddenly the man appeared in the water at the mouth of the cave, gripping onto the rope in the rolling surf. The land-based team began pulling the man to safely but he lost his hold on the line.
Winch paramedic Real was lowered towards the man, but the nearby cliffs, thrashing surf and poor conditions made the safe winching operation difficult for the whole team. The man was being tumbled around, vanishing from view only to reappear in a different location. But the crew were finally able to position Real close enough to make contact with him. Real was repeatedly engulfed by waves and submerged in the surf, making it impossible for him to attach a rescue line to the casualty. The winchman then grabbed the man and the helicopter began to tow them both towards calmer waters.
Real lost his grip on the man but he was washed close to the land team, which managed to pull him to safety on nearby rocks.
Despite exhaustion from the rescue, Real volunteered to be lowered down again to bring the casualty onboard so he could be flown to the hospital for emergency care.
The stranded woman was later rescued several hours later and flown to hospital to receive treatment for hypothermia.
Presenting the award in London early this month, vice admiral Sir Tim Laurence praised Bibby’s and Real’s: “Superb skill and teamwork in the most difficult of circumstances, when precision and communication were key.”
Bristow’s UK SAR director, Graham Hamilton said: “The crew’s actions that day are testament to their professionalism, determination, and teamwork. Without their commitment to saving and protecting lives, the outcome could have been very different. We are enormously proud of them, just as we are of all the men and women who contribute to saving lives across the U.K., every day.”
Meanwhile, the Billy Deacon SAR Memorial Trophy is awarded for meritorious service during SAR helicopter operations.
Sponsored by Bristow Helicopters, the trophy was established in memory of Billy Deacon, winchman for Bristow, who was lost while working on a SAR helicopter, operating on behalf of the Her Majesty’s Coastguard, based at Sumburgh in Shetland in 1997.
