Helicopter gets injured hiker off top of Spencer Butte

By KVAL News Published: May 16, 2012 at 3:54 PM PDT Last Updated: May 17, 2012 at 11:56 AM PDT
Helicopter gets injured hiker off top of Spencer Butte
The helicopter moves into position, as seen from Blanton Heights in the South Hills.

EUGENE, Ore. - A helicopter plucked an injured hiker off the summit of Spencer Butte on Wednesday afternoon.

A fire crew climbed Spencer Butte on foot to assess the situation and decided a helicopter was the best mode of transport to get the man down off the butte.

The call came in at 2:30 p.m. reporting a man with non life threatening injuries near the summit.

The fire department said it always sends a crew on foot to determine how to get the victim down or if the person even really needs their help.

They have brought patients down Spencer Butte on foot in the past.

And using a helicopter to rescue a hiker is not unprecedented: in June 2010, a helicopter rescued an injured hiker from the summit in a similar operation.