The helicopter had been sent to rescue the woman, who was injured while hiking in Arizona. But a line that was supposed to hold her still failed.
An elderly hiker was strapped to a stretcher wildly spinning in a dizzying video shocking the country.
The 74-year-old woman had fallen while hiking in Phoenix, Arizona, and suffered face, wrist and hip injuries on Tuesday.
During the windy airlift, firefighters say a line that was supposed to prevent the stretcher from spinning in circles failed, leaving the woman helpless as she twisted around a nauseating 175 times over the course of more than two minutes.
“Sometimes when we bring the helicopter up from the ground it will start to spin,” chief pilot Paul Apolinar said. “We have a line attached to the basket to prevent that, today it didn’t. It started to spin.”
He said the crew was able to perform maneuvers to finally stop the spinning.
Rescuers said the woman experienced dizziness and nausea, and was given medication to relieve her symptoms.
She's expected to make a full recovery.
The Phoenix Police Department said that out of 210 rescues the department has conducted involving stretchers beneath helicopters in the past six years, spinning events have occurred just twice.
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