Patient: Jake McCollum (18-year-old Bundaberg hiker)
Mission: Complex search and rescue for a missing, injured hiker
LifeFlight Rescue: Highly complex wilderness winch rescue after 80-metre fall
Key Capabilities: Precision helicopter hover to execute critical rescue
The Terrifying Fall
During his very first solo bushwalk at Mount Walsh near Biggenden, Jake McCollum slipped on wet, mossy rocks. He plummeted 80 metres down a steep, rocky pinnacle. Stranded alone in 36-degree heat, Jake suffered a fractured spine, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a deep head wound.
“The wind was knocked out of me. I didn’t really think it was survivable.” LifeFlight patient, Jake McCollum
The Beacon and the AirPods
Jake’s phone screen was shattered and unusable. Thankfully, he had a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). He dragged himself to his pack and pressed the emergency button to alert search authorities.
Thirty minutes later, Jake heard his wireless AirPods ringing. Amazingly, they remained connected to his broken phone. He answered and heard his mother’s voice. His parents stayed on the line for five hours, passing his descriptions directly to police and the LifeFlight crew.
A Hidden Needle in a Haystack
Because Jake had strayed off the main trail, ground crews searched the wrong summit. The Bundaberg LifeFlight helicopter was dispatched to find him. From the air, Jake was invisible in black clothing in the mountain’s shade and under a thick canopy of leaves.
Pilot Shaun Gillespie and Aircrew Officer Shayne White hovered low, battling tricky mountain winds. Jake could hear the helicopter and spoke through his AirPods to his mum, telling her the chopper had just flown past. She quickly relayed the message to the crew. The aircrew spotted Jake’s legs sticking out from the bush.
“We’re one of the lucky ones – we get to hug our kid at night, so we’re so very thankful to LifeFlight.” Jake’s Mother, Rachel McCollum.
The Technical Mountain Winch
The terrain was too steep to land. LifeFlight Critical Care Doctor Kit Harvey and a flight paramedic winched down into the thick scrub. They spent over an hour stabilising Jake’s spinal injuries, securing him into a special stretcher. The team carried him to a clearing and he was winched up into the helicopter. Jake was flown with speed to trauma specialists. Just two months later, he walked into the hangar to thank his heroes.
