Sometimes we have an incident that just leaved you baffled and perplexed... a family group 'lost' a 19-year-old member when she 'wandered off' on the way to Loft Crag. Our 'normal' procedure in these circumstances is to contain the remaining group and locate the missing person, however this does require a certain level of cooperation from the group and this was not forthcoming... by 1830 all members of the group had been accounted for with the original lost person turning up in Langstrath, and another one who'd gone 'searching' for her located at Stake Pass... sometimes people just have to take a bit of responsibility for their actions. things like knowing where you've parked your car and what route you were taking can be really helpful pieces of information... and telling us you need a helicopter won't necessarily get you one!
Don't expect to be rescued by helicopter
Although MRTs enjoy an excellent relationship with both military SAR helicopters and civilian air ambulances, the majority of rescues are still carreid out on foot, with NO helicopter support.
Helicopter limitations...
Military aircraft. Although capable of being flown in the dark and in very poor weather, they have many priorities and will generally only be sanctioned in life threatening circumstances. They can be grounded at their home bases by poor weather or turned back en-route for the same reason. They are stationed approximately 1 hour flying time away.
Air Amulances. Based much closer, their operation is much more limited. Poor weather can ground them and they have NO night flying capability. The injured person has to be loaded with the aircraft on the ground and the engine shut down. This means they need enough flat ground to land on... not always easy to find.
If you're not injured then you are unlikely to be rescued by helicopter, and may be depriving someone in genuine need of a sparse resource
