Sedona AZ (August 19, 2014) – At 9:11 in the morning of Saturday, August 16, 2014, Sedona Fire District (SFD) emergency crews were called to a reported hang glider crash near Courthouse Butte, in the Village of Oak Creek, Sedona.

On scene, SFD crews found three BASE jumpers, one having sustained potentially life-threatening injuries after colliding with the rock face nearly halfway into the jump.

SFD Fire Station #3 emergency crews led by Fire Captain Mark Rippy, reached the injured jumper and provided initial medical treatment. The jumper was transported, using a short haul operation to a nearby location, where an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter transported the patient, with a firefighter, to a nearby landing zone. Guardian Air Ambulance, Angel 3, flew the patient from that zone to the Flagstaff Medical Center.

These types of rescue operations are very staff and time consuming; the operation was completed at 1:43 in the afternoon, approximately 4 and 1/2 hours after receiving the initial call.

Sedona Fire District Fire Marshal Gary Johnson said “SFD crews train just for an eventuality like this. This is a great example of teamwork among three agencies working together to complete a very difficult rescue.”

This is the second Sedona BASE jumper incident within a year. During the month of November 2013, SFD crews responded to an injured BASE jumper in the same vicinity.