Jessica Reed is a writer and editor with AIN. She joined the team in the fall of 2023 after two years covering the aviation industry at Avionics International. She earned her bachelor&#039;s degree in English (Writing &amp; Rhetoric) from Pepperdine University. Her hometown is St. Louis, Missouri, and she since has resided in Santa Barbara, California, and Brooklyn, New York, among others. She is currently based in Vernon, New Jersey.

Writer & Editor

Jessica Reed

A Queensland couple stranded for three days in a remote area of northern Australia was rescued by LifeFlight's Mount Isa-based helicopter team. The dramatic operation, led by newly recruited pilot Michael Adair, involved navigating 300 nautical miles of harsh outback terrain and marked his first mission in Australia.
The couple’s ordeal began when their four-wheel drive was swept off the Burke Developmental Road into Clark Creek by a surge of floodwater. Unable to contact emergency services due to the remoteness of the location, the pair endured extreme heat, bug bites, and exposure while subsisting on muddy river water. They also faced the constant threat of crocodiles.
Emergency services were alerted when the couple failed to arrive at their destination in Kowanyama as expected. Flooded roads prevented the Queensland Police Service from reaching the site, necessitating a helicopter rescue.
<img alt="Rescue 400 SAR" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="22d7f287-1c72-40a5-9379-991af33c18a2" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Rescue%20400%20SAR%20071224%2001a.jpg" class="align-center" width="1920" height="1440" loading="lazy">
LifeFlight’s helicopter, piloted by Adair and accompanied by flight examiner Mark Overton, located the couple near Clark Creek, 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) south of Kowanyama. SOS signs etched in the dirt and frantic waves signaled their location. Upon landing, the team found the pair emotionally overwhelmed but physically stable. “They said: ‘Thank God you’re here, we didn’t think anyone was coming,’” Adair recalled.
The couple, who had lost all their belongings in the floodwaters, managed to escape their vehicle through a passenger window and rescue their two dogs, which were also brought to safety. The dogs, a cattle dog and a mixed breed affectionately named Bluey and Bingo by the rescue crew, joined the six passengers aboard the helicopter for the flight to safety.
<img alt="Rescue " data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2a194f60-e24d-4d8f-8408-db0c2705fc09" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Rescue%20400%20SAR%20071224%2007a.jpg" class="align-center" width="1440" height="1920" loading="lazy">
Overton emphasized the technical challenges of the mission, noting the vast distances involved and the stark contrast between Adair’s native New Zealand and the expansive Australian outback. “Mike is used to flying in a completely different environment... He was a bit taken aback by just how big Australia can be.”
Adair described the experience as both challenging and rewarding. “It was just wonderful to have that as my first experience of rescue helicopter operations in Australia... Not only a really technically challenging mission, but one with a perfect outcome.”

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Helicopter Crew Rescues Stranded Couple in Remote Australian Outback

LifeFlight's Mount Isa-based helicopter team rescued the couple and their two dogs

A Queensland couple stranded for three days in a remote area of northern Australia was rescued by LifeFlight's Mount Isa-based helicopter team. 

Helicopter Crew Makes Rescue in Australian Outback

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