10 CLINGMANS DOME, Tenn. – A Tennessee Army National Guard medical flight crew responded to an emergency air evacuation mission after a victim suffered a stroke while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park area, April 15.
At approximately 9 a.m., the Tennessee Military Department and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were notified of a possible stroke victim near Clingmans Dome along the Appalachian Trail, needing immediate medical care. At 9:40 a.m., the Tennessee National Guard received the official mission request.
A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the Tennessee National Guard s Detachment 1, Company C, 1-171st Aviation Regiment based in Knoxville assembled in under an hour and launched to the incident site at approximately 10:03 a.m.