Editor’s note: Photos from the response are available via hightail – https://spaces.hightail.com/space/MaxYr95GuB
Seven members from NSW SES Moss Vale and Wingecarribee Units responded to the call for assistance at Medway Road in Berrima after being activated by NSW Police at around 7.50am.
The crews worked alongside partner emergency services to extricate the patient from the plane, where he was treated by NSW Ambulance on scene and airlifted to hospital.
NSW SES Zone Duty Commander Dylan Whitelaw said it was an intricate operation to stabilise the aircraft.
“It involved playing jenga to crib all the way up to the wings of the aircraft with blocks and stabfasts,” Superintendent Whitelaw said.
“The crew then used an assortment of hydraulic tools to manipulate the metal and extricate the person from the aircraft.”
While the NSW SES is the lead agency for floods storms and tsunamis, some Units provide rescue services in regional parts of the state. NSW SES Moss Vale and Wingecarrabee Units are the general land rescue Units for the Southern Highlands.
Since the start of this year, members from NSW SES Moss Vale and Wingecarrabee Units have responded to nearly 30 road crash, vertical and general land rescues.
Just last weekend, crews worked to free three occupants that were trapped in a car after it rolled off a trail in the Wingello State Forrest. Members removed both sides of the vehicle to allow safe access and worked with paramedics to free the occupants and provide treatment.
“These members are an exceptionally experienced bunch of rescue operators, who take part in months and months of accreditation and training for all scenarios they may be faced with,” Superintendent Whitelaw said.